Jo And Doug
by autumnrose2010
Summary: Takes place in 2009. Jo is now a widow with a young daughter. She moves to Oklahoma City to start over, where she meets a man named Doug Norman and his teenage son Clay. Crosses over slightly with 'Saving Grace.'
1. Meeting Doug

_A/N: In my story, Rick was the police officer instead of Jo. Also, Jamie is twelve years old in 2009.  
><em>

"Drat!" Jo exclaimed. She'd slammed on the brakes, but not soon enough. Wet and slick from hours of drizzling rain, the road hadn't yielded enough traction to prevent her 1998 Toyota Corolla from slamming into the car ahead of it.

"Oh no!" exclaimed Jamie, who was sitting in the front seat beside her mother. She had dark brown hair and eyes like Jo. "What are we gonna do now?"

"God, I don't know," Jo groaned. All she needed was a traffic ticket, on top of all her other worries. She could see the driver of the other car getting out and coming to talk to her now. He was middle aged and was tall and broad-shouldered, with dark brown hair and eyes.

"Oh, man, I'm sorry!" Jo exclaimed. "I tried to stop, really I did..."

"Well, I don't think I have any major damage," the man told her. "Looks like my back bumper just got scratched a little. I'd just as soon not get the police involved, if it's all the same to you."

Jo's car was in much worse shape, as her front hood was crumpled up like an accordion. She figured it would be in the shop for at least a week, during which time she'd have to hire a rental car. Her eyes filled with tears as she surveyed the damage.

"Would you like for me to call a tow truck for you?" the man offered.

"That's all right." Jo wiped the tears from her eyes. "I think it's still drivable. Why'd you say what you did about not wanting to get the cops involved?"

The man looked sheepish. "It's a little embarrassing, but I'm on probation right now. Nothing serious. Possession of a very small amount of marijuana. I haven't smoked it since then, and I never will again, that's for sure."

"Oh."

"Oh, I'm sorry! Where are my manners?" The man chuckled and held his hand out to Jo. "I'm Doug Norman."

"I'm Jo Bonner, and this is my daughter Jamie," Jo told Doug as she shook hands with him. She noticed that he looked just a little disappointed.

"So what does your husband do?"

"He was a policeman. He died in the 9/11 attacks."

"I'm sorry to hear that. So you're from New York, then?"

"Yeah."

"Well, Jo, I'm sure sorry about your car." Doug looked sadly at her crushed hood.

"That's all right. It wasn't your fault."

"I know a really good mechanic if you don't already have one."

"I do, but thanks anyway."

"Say, Jo...I know this isn't really the appropriate time to say this, but I'd really like to call you sometime, if that's all right. I'd really like to see you again."

To her surprise, Jo felt her heart begin to flutter. She hadn't felt like this since...

"Sure, that sounds great." She gave Doug her telephone number. He thanked her and waited to make sure she was OK before driving off himself. She wondered whether he was really serious about wanting to see her again. She hoped he was.


	2. Seeing Doug Again

Feeling both dejected and hopeful at the same time, Jo drove her badly damaged car the short distance to her small apartment. "I don't feel like cooking tonight," she told Jamie. "Let's just go to Subway."

"Yay!" Jamie exclaimed.

Within moments, they were seated at a table with submarine sandwiches and potato chips before them. "So, what did you think of that guy?" Jamie asked her mother.

Jo shrugged. "He seemed nice. At least he wasn't angry that I hit his car."

"Our car sure got a lot worse damage," Jamie pointed out.

"Yeah," Jo agreed. "But if you rear end someone, the police automatically consider it to be your fault for following too close behind them."

_"Were _you following too close behind him?"

"I didn't think I was, but I guess I was wrong," Jo muttered gloomily. To her surprise, she was hungry enough to finish her entire meal. After they finished eating, she and her daughter went back home, where Jo watched a couple of hours of TV, quickly checked her email, and went to bed.

The following day, she called her job and told them she'd be a couple of hours late, called her insurance company and told them what had happened, then took the car in to the mechanic's and arranged for a rental car.

* * *

><p>During the two weeks it took for her car to be repaired, Jo was so preoccupied that she put the encounter with Doug at the back of her mind, but on the day she went to pick her car up from the mechanic's, it occurred to her that he'd never called her. <em>I knew he wouldn't, <em>she told herself, swallowing the lump of disappointment in her throat.

That Friday night, she and Jamie went to WalMart to pick up some household items they needed, and as always, they checked out the bin of five dollar DVDs before leaving. "I thought I saw a copy of 'Saw IV' in here a minute ago, but I can't find it now," Jamie complained.

"You and your slasher movies," Jo teased.

"C'mon, Mom, you know you like them just as much as I do," Jamie replied with a grin.

"Here's a copy," said a helpful voice. Jo and Jamie turned to see a brown-haired boy a couple of years older than Jamie who had a friendly smile.

"Are you about ready to go, Clay?" asked a man's voice from a couple of aisles over.

"In a minute, Dad," the boy replied.

A moment later, Doug appeared. He and Jo stared at one another in startled silence for just a moment, and then he grinned and stepped toward her. "Jo! Small world, isn't it?"

"Hi, Doug," Jo said coolly.

"I meant to call you, really, I did," Doug continued. "I just got so busy, work and all..." He shrugged helplessly while Clay and Jamie just stared at one another, perplexed.

"It's all right," Jo heard herself say. "I've been pretty busy myself."

"Well, is your car fixed now?"

"Yeah, finally." Jo rolled her eyes. "I just got it back a few days ago."

"You know, I feel pretty bad about that," Doug said softly.

"No reason for you to," Jo replied. "It wasn't your fault."

"At least let me buy you a coffee," said Doug.

"Well...all right." Suddenly Jo felt her urge to get home melt away in response to Doug's charming smile.

* * *

><p>"So, are you an every-other-weekend Dad?" Jo asked Doug as they sat in the diner drinking coffee and talking.<p>

"I'm a full-time Dad." Doug laughed. "Clay's Mom was killed in the Oklahoma City bombing in 1995."

"That's terrible!" Jo exclaimed. "So you've pretty much raised him alone, then."

"I've had a lot of help," Doug told her. "Mary Frances' sister Grace has been wonderful with Clay. She's been almost like a second mother to him. I don't know how I ever would have made it without her."

"Family is important," Jo agreed. "Jamie was only four when her Dad died. It was very hard for both of us that first year. She was too young to understand. She just kept crying and asking when her Daddy was going to come home."

"Clay was just a baby," Doug said. "Mary Frances was still nursing him. After she died, I had a really hard time getting Clay to drink formula."

"That's so sad, that he was too young to remember his Mom," Jo reflected. "At least Jamie does have some vague memories of her Dad."

They finished their coffee and kept on talking, until suddenly Jo noticed the time and was a little bit alarmed to see how late it was. "I really need to be getting back home," she said. "But I really enjoyed talking to you, and thanks for the coffee."

"It was my pleasure," Doug replied. "And I enjoyed talking to you as well."

Doug and Clay walked Jo and Jamie back to their car, and Jo felt really happy as she drove back home.


	3. First Date

Doug called Jo the following afternoon. "I hope I'm not calling at a bad time," he said.

"Not at all!" Jo replied. "I was just catching up on some housework while I wait for the washing machine to finish. You gave me an excuse to sit down and take a break."

Doug laughed. "Glad to be of assistance." Suddenly he turned serious. "I have a confession to make. The real reason I didn't call before was that I just couldn't get up the nerve to. See...my last relationship ended so badly that I've just been plain scared to take the risk again."

"I'm sorry to hear that," Jo sympathized.

"Her name was Maggie," Doug continued. "She was a bartender, and I really fell for her, hard. She was pretty, smart, funny, full of life...you know how they say love is blind? Well, it sure was in my case...Anyway, my sister-in-law Grace...I told you about her...she did some investigating, and it turned out that Maggie and her boyfriend were scheming together to rob the Oklahoma City bombing victims of their settlements."

"That's terrible!" Jo exclaimed. "I sure hope she got what she deserved!"

"She did," Doug assured her. "Afterwards I felt so stupid for having been so trusting. I'll sure be more careful next time."

"I don't blame you!" Jo agreed. "Well, I can assure you that I'm no crook."

Doug laughed. "Getting busted for having pot was the only trouble of any kind I've ever been in."

"I got into some trouble when I was a teenager, but nothing serious," Jo replied. "Since graduating high school, I've been as good as gold."

"Hey, I was wondering if you and your daughter would like to come over tonight," Doug suggested. "Nothin' fancy, but I thought maybe we could have dinner and watch a movie, if you want."

"That sounds all right," Jo agreed. "Do you need me to bring anything?"

"Just yourselves." Doug chuckled.

Jamie was in her bedroom watching TV. Jo walked down the hallway and knocked on her door. "We have an invitation to go to Doug and Clay's for dinner tonight," she said.

"Aw, I wanted to spend the night at Taylor's," Jamie protested.

"That's all right," said Jo. "I'll just drop you off at Taylor's before heading over to Doug's."

Jo made _mizeria _(cucumber salad) to take to Doug's anyway. She dropped Jamie off at her friend Taylor's and got to Doug's at around six.

Doug was sitting on the sofa watching TV when Jo arrived. He was wearing jeans with a striped shirt with the top button undone.

His face lit up when he saw her. "Jo! Come on in! Where's Jamie?"

"Spending the night with one of her friends."

"Clay's out with friends, too." Doug looked at the covered dish she held. "I told you you didn't have to bring anything!"

"I know." Jo smiled. "This is _mizeria_. It's my mother's recipe."

"Well, it looks tasty," Doug replied. "I suppose it'll go OK with lasagna. Oh, sorry, I forgot to ask if you like lasagna..."

"I love it!"

"Say, since neither Clay nor Jamie is here, how about if I take you out to a movie after dinner? Anything you particularly want to see?"

"Hm...how about 'Zombieland'?"

"Aw, don't tell me you like _those _kind of movies!"

"Well, if you'd rather see something else..."

"Naw, that's OK. I'll take you to see it if you want."

He did, and ended up enjoying it much more than he thought he would. "Well, now I'm glad you suggested it!" he told Jo as they left the theater afterwards. "It was a lot better than I thought it would be!"

"I knew you'd like it." Jo smiled. "Would you like to come in for a drink? All I have is beer."

"Beer's fine!" said Doug.

They drank their beer and talked about their jobs and their children. "I'm a receptionist for an OB/GYN," Jo told Doug. "All I see all day long is babies and bellies."

Doug laughed. "I'm in landscaping," he told Jo. "Been doin' that for about thirty years now. Nothin' fancy, but it keeps the bills paid and a roof over our heads."

"You must really enjoy it to have been doing it for so long," Jo replied. "When I was younger, I really wanted to be a police officer, but I couldn't pass the physical because of my asthma."

"Are you OK now?" asked Doug.

"Oh, yes, I'm fine now," Jo said. "I just start wheezing sometimes when I get really stressed out."

"Well, I've had a great time, but I guess I need to be heading on home now," Doug finally said.

"Thanks for taking me out," said Jo. "I had a great time too."

"Thanks for going out with me," Doug replied. "Maybe we could do it again sometime, if you'd like."

"I'd like that."

"Well, beautiful lady, can I kiss you good-night?"

"Please do!"

He did. Jo watched as he drove away, wondering whether she'd ever hear from him again. She hoped she would.


	4. Do You Believe In Angels?

On Sunday morning, Jo slept in until about nine o'clock and had a slight headache when she got up. Vaguely she reflected that if she'd only gotten up a couple of hours earlier, she could have gone to church. Oh well, maybe next time, she thought as she made scrambled eggs and toast and coffee for breakfast.

Afterwards she cleaned house and read a romance novel. While reading, she imagined Doug in the role of the hero and herself in the role of the heroine. She got so involved in her fantasy that she almost didn't even notice when her stomach began to growl.

After fixing herself a couple of grilled cheese sandwiches and eating them, she went to Taylor's to pick Jamie up. "Did you have a good time?" she asked as they rode home.

"Yeah. We stayed up til three in the morning." Jamie yawned. Jo laughed.

They went bike riding for awhile, and then Jamie took a nap while Jo read her novel some more. Around six, Jo made dinner and they ate.

Jo had just about given up on hearing from Doug when he called her while she was watching TV at about nine thirty. "I ain't callin' you too late, am I?" he asked anxiously.

"Not at all," Jo replied. "I wasn't planning on turning in for a couple of hours or so. How are you?"

"I'm all right," Doug replied. "Hey, listen, I'm sorry I didn't call you earlier. It's just been one thing after another today. I got home from church this morning to find my sink running over with water 'cause somebody didn't turn the tap off completely, and then once I got that mess cleaned up, I had to fix the chain on Clay's bike. I was doin' that when I pinched my finger and hit hurt like heck, and then I realized that I was out of Band-Aids and had to go to the store, and then the register froze and it took them about half an hour to fix that..."

"Oh my God, you poor thing," Jo laughed. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean to laugh; I know it wasn't really funny..."

"That's OK. It helps a whole lot just to hear your voice." Suddenly he sounded a bit shy.

"It's great to hear your voice too, Doug." Jo was reminded of the fantasies she'd had while reading her romance novel earlier and felt inexplicably ashamed of them. "I've been feeling kind of lonely today."

Doug chuckled nervously. "Well, I just wanted to let you know that I had a really great time last night. I haven't had that much fun in a long time. I'd love to do it again soon...if you would."

"Of course I would!" Although suddenly deliriously happy, Jo was, at the same time, worried that perhaps she sounded _too _eager. She certainly didn't want to come across as desperate.

"Great! How about next weekend?"

"Sounds good to me!"

* * *

><p>Sure enough, Doug called her the following Friday night. "I was gonna try to set up something for tomorrow night," he told her. "But it's supposed to be a really gorgeous day, so I thought I'd take Clay fishing, and I was wondering if you and Jamie would like to come along."<p>

"I don't know how to fish," Jo confessed. "I've never been before."

"Aw, you're kidding!"

"No, I'm not. I really haven't."

"Well, how about if I teach you, then?"

"Well...OK. Yeah, that might be fun."

"Fishing?" Jamie asked when Jo mentioned the subject to her. "You mean, like, sticking worms on hooks and stuff? Gross!"

"You don't have to come along if you don't want," said Jo. "But I'm going tomorrow with Doug and Clay."

"You mean Clay's gonna be there too? Count me in, then!"

The day started out pleasantly enough. Doug and Clay picked Jo and Jamie up and drove them to the bridge, where Doug baited everyone's hook and they all stood around waiting for a bite.

"You mentioned that you went to church last Sunday," Jo said to Doug.

"I go every Sunday," Doug replied.

"Where do you go, if you don't mind my asking?"

"St. Jude."

"I'm Catholic, too," Jo said. "Well, at least my family is."

"What about you?"

Jo shrugged. "Well...I used to go to church all the time when I was a lot younger, but as I got older, I sort of got out of the habit. A lot of it was that life just got a lot busier, and part of it was...well, I just started wondering whether all that stuff was really true, y'know?"

"Do you believe in angels?" asked Doug.

"I dunno. I never met one."

_"I _have."

"Huh? You mean you've met a real angel?"

"Sure have. His name's Earl. Remember my sister-in-law Grace that I told you about? He's her guardian angel. He saved her from a tragic accident several years ago, and he's been with her ever since then."

"You're kidding!" Jo couldn't believe her ears.

"I'll introduce you to him, if you like," Doug offered.

"Yeah," said Jo. "That's one guy I've _got _to meet."


	5. Wings

To her surprise, Jo had a nice time with Doug, Clay, and Jamie at the river that day. Doug caught five fish, Clay caught three, and Jo and Jamie caught one each.

"Not bad at all, for beginners," Doug said encouragingly. They went back to his house, where Doug cleaned the fish and cooked them for dinner. Afterwards, Jo and Jamie stayed and visited for several hours, laughing and talking, until Jo started yawning.

"I guess it's about time we headed home," she told Doug.

"Already?" He looked disappointed, then glanced at the clock. "Yeah, I guess you're right. Coming along, Clay?"

"Nah, I think I'll just hang out here," his son replied.

Back at Jo's apartment, Jamie quickly went back to her bedroom while Doug and Jo lingered at the doorway, talking.

"This weekend was totally different from the way I thought it was gonna go, but I can't imagine having had any more fun than I did," Doug told Jo.

"The weekend isn't over with yet," Jo reminded him.

"No, it isn't," he agreed. "Say, why don't you come to church tomorrow morning? I mean, if you don't already go someplace..."

"I don't," Jo told him. "In fact, that sounds like a good idea. I haven't even been to church at all since I moved here. It would be good to get back into the habit again."

"Good! I hope you'll come." He kissed her good-bye, a more lingering kiss this time.

Jamie refused to go with her mother to St. Jude's the following morning, preferring to sleep in, so Jo went alone. Doug beamed when he saw her enter the sanctuary and made room for her beside himself and Clay.

In the end, Jo was glad she'd decided to attend. The priest's message was about new beginnings, putting past sorrows behind and embracing the opportunities of the present.

"I think that was meant for both of us," Doug said to Jo when the service was over. "Why don't you come over later? I'll take you to meet Grace and Earl."

"OK, just let me make sure Jamie's all right," Jo replied.

"You're really into this guy, aren't you?" Jamie asked when Jo returned home.

"I do like him a lot," Jo admitted.

"Are you sleeping with him?" Jamie's eyes narrowed.

"That's none of your business, young lady!" Jo's eyes blazed with anger.

"So you are, then," Jamie said nonchalantly.

Jo stormed out of the house in anger and arrived at Doug's in a sour mood.

"What is it?" Doug asked anxiously.

"It's Jamie." Jo sighed. "She asked...something that was none of her business."

"Teenagers." Doug laughed and shook his head. "Well, you ready to go, then?"

* * *

><p>"Doug tells me you're an angel," Jo said to Earl when she met him. To her, he looked like a very ordinary scruffy middle-aged man.<p>

"I am," Earl replied. "Want to see proof?"

"Yeah." Jo glanced at Doug, wondering whether they were both mentally unbalanced. Without hesitation, Earl removed his shirt and opened his wings.

Jo gasped, shocked. "How the heck did you _do _that?"

"It was easy." Earl grinned.

"Can I touch them?"

"Sure!"

Jo examined Earl's wings and found that they seemed to be completely natural appendages, such as limbs. In the end, she had to concede that his claim to be an angel must be genuine.

"I couldn't believe it either, at first," Doug told Jo as he drove her home.

"Had you ever seen his wings before today?" asked Jo.

"Yes."

"How many times?"

"Not that many. He ain't a show-off about them. He doesn't want a lot of attention, articles written about him in the 'National Enquirer', stuff like that. He's only here to help Grace."

"Why only Grace?"

"She cried out to God, and He sent Earl to look out for her. But he's a nice guy, Jo. Any time you need him, just ask him, and he'll help you all he can."

"Has he helped you before?"

"He sure has." Doug grinned as he drove into the apartment building's parking lot.

"Must be handy knowing an angel," Jo remarked.

"Well, now you know him too, don't you?"


	6. Hiking Mishap

Jo spent a lot of time thinking about Earl over the following week. He was just so totally different from the way she'd always imagined angels to be. She'd always thought of them as youthful, attractive, effeminate, blond, and blue-eyed. Earl was very much the opposite of all that, and yet she'd seen his wings, hadn't she?

The following weekend, Doug and Clay invited Jo and Jamie to go hiking with them. "I've never been in this particular area before," Jo remarked when they reached their destination.

"Clay and I come here all the time, don't we, Clay?" Doug asked his son.

"Uh huh." Clay was busy mashing buttons on his cell phone while Jamie craned her neck to see what he was doing.

"Hey." Clay hid the phone from her view. "Quit snooping."

"That isn't polite, Jamie," Jo scolded her daughter.

"I didn't do anything," Jamie whined.

Embarrassed, Jo glanced at Doug who, to her relief, seemed oblivious to their children's interaction. Just then, she felt a stab of pain as an insect bit her and gave a little yelp.

"What's wrong?" Doug glanced her way with concern in his voice.

"Nothing. Just a little bug bite. That's all," Jo replied bravely, showing him her arm.

"That looks like some bite," he replied with a frown.

They continued their hike through the woods, and although Jo's arm itched and burned terribly from where the bug had bit her, she tried to ignore it and focus on the wonders of nature Doug was showing her.

After awhile, they stopped to eat the picnic lunch of fried chicken, potato salad, rolls, pound cake, and iced tea they'd packed to bring along. Rather than being ravenously hungry, as she'd expected to be, Jo found that she could barely eat at all.

"Don't you like it?" asked Doug, who'd provided the fried chicken and rolls. Jo had brought the potato salad and pound cake.

"It's delicious," Jo replied. "I don't know what's happened to my appetite..." Suddenly a wave of nausea came over her. She fought it with all her might and managed to swallow it.

They were on their way back when suddenly Jo felt so weak that she could hardly put one foot ahead of the other. Her skin felt first very hot, then very cold, and she struggled to breathe. "Something's wrong..." she gasped.

"Jo!" Doug exclaimed.

"Mom!" Jamie cried.

Jo wavered and and instantly felt Doug's strong arms around her, carrying her. Somehow he got her back to the car and then to the hospital, where she was immediately wheeled into the emergency room.

A couple of hours later, she found herself lying in bed with an IV in her arm, a very worried Doug sitting at her side.

"What happened?" she asked weakly.

"You had an allergic reaction to that insect bite," he told her. "They're giving you steroids to bring the inflammation down. Doc says if we'd gotten here thirty minutes later..." Doug teared up and couldn't finish.

"You mean I almost died...from an insect bite?" Jo couldn't believe it.

"You're gonna be fine now, babe. Doc says after a few hours of observation, you can go home."

"Where's Jamie?"

"She's fine. Her and Clay are in the waiting room."

"I'm sorry I loused up our fun day out."

"Aw, if wasn't your fault! I'm just glad you're all right!"

By the time Jo was released from the hospital, it was almost dark. "Want me to take you back to my house for the night?" Doug offered.

Jo was shocked. "You mean..."

Doug realized what he'd just said and laughed heartily. "Naw, babe, I wasn't even thinkin' about that. I just thought that maybe after all you've been through today you wouldn't feel like spendin' the night all by yourself."

"But what about Jamie? I don't feel comfortable leaving her by herself all night. She's only twelve."

"Oh, well, in that case, how about if I drop Clay off and come to your house? He's a big boy. He can take care of himself."

"There's only the sofa...'

"The sofa's fine!" With the appealing smile he gave her, how could ever she say no?


	7. Pancakes

Jo found it impossible to sleep that night. A suddenly occurring thought had shaken her badly, and try as she might, she couldn't get it out of her head. After hours of tossing and turning, she decided that she couldn't stand it anymore and got up and walked into the living room where Doug was. She hated to awaken him but didn't feel that her question could wait until the morning.

When she got there, she saw that, to her surprise and delight, Doug was awake as well, and was sitting up on the sofa as if he'd been expecting her. When he saw her, he held his arms out to her, and she silently went into them. The whole thing seemed as natural as could be.

Resting her head against Doug's shoulder as she relished the warm softness of his embrace, she felt her eyelids begin to get heavy, and she almost, but not quite, for what she'd wanted to ask him.

"Doug?"

"Hm?"

"How long did it take you to get me to the hospital after I...well, after what happened to me?"

"I don't know. I didn't time it, exactly. Why?"

"Well...it's just that I thought allergic reactions that severe usually killed people pretty fast, and I was wondering how I...how I lived long enough to get to the hospital."

"Earl was with us, you know."

Jo instantly snapped fully awake, shocked. "He _was? _But how did he know..."

"I called for him, and he came."

"You mean...he was right there in the car with us the whole time?"

"He was, and he also sat with me in your hospital room until we knew that you were going to be all right."

"Doug..." Suddenly Jo was crying, hard. As Doug tenderly kissed her tears away, gentle comfort soon gave way to ardent passion, and with a shock Jo felt his tongue slide into her mouth, his hands busily wandering all over her breasts.

A long-repressed desire sprang up inside her, and her erect nipples straining against the thin fabric of her nightshirt ached underneath the warmth of Doug's hands cupping them, until suddenly he was pulling the nightshirt over her head and then taking them into his mouth to gently suckle them in turn. Jo moaned and thrashed. "Oh, yes...oh, yes..."

She felt the hardness of his stiff erection pressing urgently against her as he lay her back on the sofa and began to cover her body with his own.

"Uh...Doug?"

"Hm?"

"Want to finish this in my bedroom?"

The spell seemed broken as Doug hesitated. "Um...Jo? I don't have a condom," he said awkwardly.

"I'm forty-three, Doug. I don't think it's gonna happen."

"You sure?"

"I'm sure."

They quickly adjourned to Jo's bedroom, where they eagerly peeled off their remaining clothing and climbed onto the bed, and then he was inside her,thrusting and grunting. She clung to his back as she rose up to meet him with each thrust.

It ended far too quickly for Jo.

"I'm sorry," Doug said sheepishly as she felt him limply slide out of her. "It's just that it's been so long..."

"It's been a long time for me, too," Jo replied. She basked in the warmth of his embrace as he gently rubbed her back.

"Are you all right, Jo? I didn't mean for this to happen, really..."

"That's OK. I wanted it too," Jo assured him. Suddenly very sleepy, she dozed off in his arms.

She awakened the following morning to find herself alone in bed. She wandered into the kitchen to see that Doug was not only already up and fully dressed but that he was in the process of serving up a plate of steaming hot pancakes to a beaming Jamie.

He grinned at her when he saw her. "Morning, sleepyhead! Hope you're hungry. I cooked up plenty."

"Oh, wow!" Overwhelmed, all Jo could do was stare.


	8. Prepared

"Wow, you didn't have to do that!" Jo couldn't believe her eyes.

"I know. I just thought you might be a bit hungry after...such a big day." He winked at her, and she giggled.

Jamie rolled her eyes. "God, I think I'm gonna barf..."

Both adults burst out laughing.

"You've been pretty happy up until now," Jo remarked, glancing at the remnants of Jamie's pancake breakfast.

Jamie grimaced. "Grown-ups!" she moaned.

"Teenagers!" Jo replied, mimicking her daughter's tone.

The pancakes were quickly consumed, and Jo and Doug cleaned up afterward. "Well, as much as I've enjoyed the company of you two lovely ladies, I think I'd better head home and see how Clay's faring," Doug said when they were finished.

"I loved having you here as well..." Jo paused, afraid of sounding too enthusiastic, perhaps even desperate.

Doug lightly touched her cheek. "Are you sure you're OK, Jo?"

"I'm fine." Jo smiled lightly. He embraced her and lightly kissed her lips, then was gone.

"He's a keeper," Jamie commented after he'd left.

"Aw, you're just thinking with your stomach," Jo teased.

"Those _were _some good pancakes," Jamie replied.

"Yes, they were," Jo agreed. She spent the rest of the day ruminating about what had transpired between herself and Doug the previous day and night. She certainly hadn't planned for the two of them to end up in bed together, but after her close brush with death and Doug's revelation about Earl's involvement in the incident, she couldn't deny that she'd felt a special bond with Doug, one much closer than the more casual connection they'd shared previously, and what had proceeded from that had seemed only natural, only right.

Still, she couldn't help but wonder if she'd given in to passion too soon in their relationship. Did Doug feel the same bond with her that she felt with him? Did that old rule about having to wonder whether or not he'd call her the following day still apply at their ages, in their circumstances?

As it turned out, she needn't have worried, as the following day, she returned from work to find that a single red rose with an accompanying card had been delivered to her address. "Dear Jo, I'm so glad you're all right! What happened to you gave me such a scare. I still feel bad about it, since it was my idea to go hiking that day. I enjoyed every minute I spent with you and hope to do it again really soon. Love, Doug.'

Along with the dizzying relief came a tiny pinprick of concern. Did Doug mean that he wanted to become her lover on a regular basis? If so, should she start thinking about birth control? Was forty-three really too old to get pregnant? She'd assumed it was, but was it really? She still menstruated every month. Did that mean that she was still fertile, even at her age?

"Told you he was a keeper," Jamie said when she saw the rose.

After dinner, Jo called Doug.

"Hey! How are you?" he exclaimed enthusiastically when he heard her voice.

"I'm fine. Thanks for the rose. That was really sweet of you."

"Aw, it's no problem at all! Glad you like it!"

An awkward silence followed. "So, how was your day?" Doug finally asked.

"It was all right. Busy. How was yours?"

"Same as usual. Missing you."

"Are you really? Aw, that's sweet!" _He really does like me!_

"Yeah, well, the weekend will be here, eventually."

"Hey, what did Clay say about your spending the night here?" The thought had suddenly occurred to her.

"Nothing." He sounded surprised. "He answers to me. I don't answer to him."

"Yes, of course, but..."

"But nothing!" Doug laughed and changed the subject.

* * *

><p>He called her every night that week, and they made plans to go out to dinner Friday night. Jo prepared dinner for Jamie beforehand. When he arrived to pick her up, he looked more handsome and desirable than ever to her. Was that because they'd spent the night together the previous weekend, or would she have felt that way, anyway?<p>

"Hey! Great to see you again!" he said as he embraced her and kissed her lips.

"I'm not sure when I'll be back," Jo told her daughter, almost apologetically. "I've got my cell phone with me in case you need anything."

"I'll be fine, Mom," Jamie assured her. "Have fun!"

Dinner and the movie that followed were only an excuse to see one another again, and they both knew it. When the movie ended, there was no question that they'd leave together afterwards.

"It'll have to be my place again," Jo told Doug. "I can't leave Jamie home alone all night. She's only twelve."

"Of course," said Doug. "Clay's fifteen. He'll be fine. And..." He took a small object from his pocket. "I'm prepared this time."

Jo saw that he was holding a condom.


	9. It's Not Over With Yet

Jo giggled. "You must have been a boy scout."

"As a matter of fact, I was." He grinned. "Ready to go?"

He took her out to her favorite restaurant, where he ordered steak and she ordered seafood. "I have to say you do look ravishing tonight," he told her. She'd worn her dark red off-one-shoulder dress.

"Thank you," she said. "I had you in mind when I picked it out. You look very nice as well." He was neatly dressed in jeans and a brown-and-tan striped polo shirt. "That shirt really matches your eyes."

He ate every bite of his meal, but she had to ask for a doggy bag. "You must have really been hungry," she commented.

"I was so nervous about tonight that I could hardly eat anything all day," he admitted.

"Nervous? About going out with me?" She was surprised.

"Well, like I said, it's been a really long time, and...heck, Jo, I'm so scared!"

"Scared? Of what?"

"Well...that I won't please you."

"You pleased me just fine last weekend."

"But we weren't exactly planning for that to happen, were we? It was just a spur-of-the-moment thing."

"Well, let's not plan for tonight to happen, either," she suggested. "Let's let tonight be a spur-of-the-moment thing too."

"But if we plan for it to be that way, then it won't be..." He looked puzzled for a moment, then burst out laughing. She joined in.

He took her to see 'The Time Traveler's Wife' and they both found it charming but a little hard to follow.

"The ending was just so sad," Jo told Doug afterwards. "It reminded me of the day Rick died."

"That must have been so terrible for you," he said softly.

"Oh, it was!" she agreed. "I'd just started my work day when the news of the attacks came on over the radio and we all gathered around to listen. My first thought was of Jamie, and my second was of Rick. I tried to call the child care center but couldn't get through because all the other parents were calling in too. It took me a couple of hours to get there and pick her up, and we went home to wait for word from Rick. We didn't hear anything at all for two days. I couldn't eat or sleep. It was pure torture. On the third day, the police called me. They wanted...me...to come to the makeshift morgue..."

By now she was sobbing hard. He held her close and stroked her hair until her tears subsided.

"Now I've gone and got your shirt all wet," she said after awhile.

"That's OK. I can live with my shirt getting a little wet. I'm more worried about you."

"I'll be OK," she sniffled. "Sorry for getting all emotional."

"Oh, that's all right!" Doug assured her. "I know how you feel. I've been there too, you know."

"I know. It must have been pretty similar for you when you lost Mary Frances."

"It was the worst day of my life," he said. "I'll never forget kissing her good-bye that morning. I've relived that moment in my mind over and over again millions of times. She made some joke about it being hump day and I told her I'd take her out somewhere really nice that weekend. I had no idea I'd ever see her alive again." He had to choke back a sob.

"Going to the morgue to identify the body was the worst part for me," said Jo.

"It was for me too," Doug agreed.

"Who could have ever guessed that a movie would have had such an emotional impact on both of us," Jo remarked.

"I had no idea our night would end like this," Doug replied.

"It's not over with yet." Jo giggled as she started to kiss him, and he responded with even more passion than he had the previous weekend. Together they lay back in bed, their hands moving slowly all over one another's bodies, pushing clothing aside to caress bare skin.

In contrast to the fevered urgency of the previous weekend, their lovemaking this time was slow, gentle, leisurely, as they patiently took the time to explore one another's bodies, discovering how best to bring one another pleasure.

"You were so worried," Jo chuckled as they lay in one another's arms afterwards.

"I really enjoyed that," said Doug. "Did you?"

"Very much." Lying in the arms of the man who'd become so very special to her over the past few weeks, Jo drifted into a contented sleep.


	10. Talking With Blair

Jo awakened in Doug's arms the following morning. She felt drowsily content as memories of the previous night washed over her.

She soon felt soft lips grazing her forehead and realized that Doug was awake as well. She raised her lips to meet his.

"Are you all right?" he asked her.

"I'm fine," she replied. "You?"

"Couldn't be better." He laughed. "You know, I feel like there was something missing in my life that I didn't even realize until just recently, and now I've found it again."

"That's the same way I feel," said Jo. "It's funny. If it hadn't been for me rear-ending you, we never would have even met."

"I guess that wasn't really an accident, then," said Doug. "I guess it was really fate."

"And we have so much in common," Jo added. "We're both widowed, both Catholic, both have teenagers, although technically Jamie's only twelve..."

"I'd imagine you're a bit younger than me," said Doug. "What year did you graduate high school?"

"Eighty-four," Jo replied. "What about you?"

"Ah, let's see...a few years before that. Sixty-nine."

"Wow, that _is _a few years earlier!"

Doug chuckled. "Don't tell me you think I'm too old for you now."

"Oh, no, not at all," Jo said quickly. "But that means you would have been over forty when Clay was born."

"That's right, and it was the happiest day of my life."

"I know it's none of my business, but...isn't that kind of old for a first time father?"

"Mary Frances and I weren't in any particular hurry. We'd been married eight years when he was born."

Jo looked puzzled. He kissed the tip of her nose. "Ask me later. Right now it's time for me to start on the pancakes."

They found Jamie sitting in her pajamas in the living room, watching cartoons and eating cereal.

"If you'd waited just a little bit, you could have had pancakes instead," Doug teased her.

"I got hungry," Jamie replied. "But that's all right. You can still make pancakes. I'll eat them, too."

Jo and Doug both laughed.

* * *

><p>Later in the day, after Doug had left, Jo decided to call Blair. Although the two women stayed in touch regularly through email and Facebook, Jo missed the sound of her friend's voice.<p>

"Hey, girl!" Blair exclaimed. "How are you?"

"Great!" Jo replied. "Doug spent the night here last night. I'm getting to really like him a lot, and I'm pretty sure he feels the same way about me."

"What about Jamie?"

"She wasn't too sure about him at first, but they get along great now."

"You'd better be careful, girl." Blair suddenly sounded very serious.

"I'm always careful! What do you mean?"

"You know what I mean. It's been a while since you've been in the game, Jo. This isn't high school anymore."

"I know that, Blair. But Doug's really nice. I don't think I have anything to worry about."

"Well, just be careful. That's all."

"How are Tad and the kids?"

"They're fine! Adam and Alyssa both made the honor roll again. I'm so proud of them!"

The two women chatted some more about their jobs and families, and then Jo hung up and finished some housework.

Jo planned to go to church again Sunday morning, and even persuaded Jamie to come along, but when she tried to start the car, it wouldn't do a thing. Desperately she looked around for a neighbor to jump her off but didn't see a soul.

Just when she was about to give up and go back inside the house, a familiar car pulled up alongside hers. "Come on!" Doug called with a friendly wave and honk of the horn.

"Wow! How'd you know I needed a ride?" asked Jo as she and Jamie got into the back seat behind Doug and Clay.

"I didn't." Doug was puzzled. "I just thought that you might like to ride with me and Clay this morning. You got car trouble?"

"It wouldn't start, and I couldn't find anybody to jump me off," Jo explained.

"Aw. Well, I'll take a look at it after church," Doug offered.

"I'll fix lunch for all of us," said Jo.

"Aw, I was gonna take you girls somewhere really nice!"

"I _told _you he was a keeper!" Jamie whispered into her mother's ear.

* * *

><p>Jo was using the copy machine at work when a wave of dizziness swept over her. She took a few deep breaths and waited for it to pass, then continued with her day, thinking nothing more of it.<p>

She was walking to her car that evening when another wave of dizziness hit her, this one so strong that she almost fell over.

_My God! What is wrong with me? _she asked herself.


	11. A Shocking Turn Of Events

Frightened and a little bit shaky, she made it to her car, praying that she would be all right to drive the short distance home. A few minutes later, she was parking the car and walking into her apartment.

"Are you all right, Mom?" asked Jamie, who'd gotten home from school about an hour earlier.

"I'm fine," Jo replied. "Why do you ask?"

Jamie shrugged. "You just look kind of pale. That's all."

Jo was preparing dinner when the aroma of the frying meat made her feel so nauseous that she had dry heaves over the sink. After she'd served the meal, she found that she wasn't able to eat the meat at all. She ate the vegetables and put her uneaten meat into the refrigerator for in case she got hungry later.

"Are you _sure _you're all right?" Jamie asked her.

"I'm fine, hon," Jo said weakly.

The next morning, the alarm clock cut through the thick haze of sleep she was in. _Oh, is it morning already? _she groaned to herself. Struggling to rise, she realized that she had a pounding headache. Somehow she made it to the kitchen, only to find that the only thing she felt able to eat was dry toast with iced tea to drink. She realized that the last time she'd felt this way had been...

_Oh, no, _she told herself. _It **couldn't **be that. There's no way..._

She found herself yawning frequently all morning long. _Strange, _she thought. _I'm sure I got enough sleep last night._

On her lunch break, she stopped by the drug store and bought a pregnancy test, just to be sure. Then she got busy at work and forgot all about it, until she suddenly remembered as she was entering her apartment after work.

As soon as she was able, she fetched it from her purse and took it into the restroom. Once she had the result, she just stared at it for a long time, not saying a word.

* * *

><p>She managed to act normally enough that Jamie didn't suspect anything for the rest of the evening, but that night she lay wide awake in bed with her mind spinning in crazy circles.<p>

_My God! How could I have ever been so stupid? _she chastised herself. _I really thought it would be all right. It took me a couple of months to get pregnant with Jamie, and I was way younger then. I never dreamed it would happen from just one time, especially at my age._

_At my age. God, I'm too old for this. What if it's badly deformed? What if something happens to me? I'll just have to get an abortion, that's all._

_No, I can't do that! At least not until I talk to Doug about it._

_Doug._ What on earth would he say? Would he be angry? One thing she knew for sure was that he would definitely be freaked out about it. That, and the fact that she was scared to death of telling him.

Yet she knew she'd have to, and soon.

Somehow she made it through the following morning, and at lunchtime, she received what, under any other circumstances, would have been a pleasant surprise when Doug showed up at the office.

"Hey, sweetie!" he greeted her. "I thought it would be great if we...hey, what's wrong?"

"I have to talk to you, Doug. It's important." She took his arm and led him into an empty examination room.

"Jo?" He was really puzzled now.

"I'm pregnant, Doug." She couldn't meet his eyes. For a long time, neither of them said a word.

"Are you sure?" he finally asked.

She nodded. "I took the test yesterday. It was positive."

"Have you told the doctor yet?"

"I haven't told anyone but you, Doug."

"You'd better tell her as soon as possible!" he exclaimed. "Jo, at your age...I'm not saying you're old, but...you need to be under a doctor's care as soon as possible!"

"So you think I should keep it, then?"

He was shocked. "You weren't thinking of getting an abortion, were you?"

"I didn't know what you'd want. I knew you wouldn't be happy about it."

"Now how could you have known that?" She noticed that a small smile was playing about his lips. "I think it's great!"

"Really?" She was shocked, but at the same time, she felt the knot of anxiety inside her belly rapidly dissolving.

"Sure! Why wouldn't it be?" He was grinning now.

"Well...we _are _kind of old for this, and besides, we haven't even known each other for six months yet!"

"That's long enough for me to know that I love you and want to spend the rest of my life with you." Suddenly he was kneeling before her. "Will you marry me, Jo?"


	12. Telling Jamie

"Well, gosh, this is kind of sudden..." Jo stammered.

"Just say yes, so I can stand up!" Doug chuckled. "My arthritis is killing me!"

"Arthritis? You have arthritis in your knee?"

"In _both _knees, but will you please hurry up and answer my question?"

"Well, yes, of course I will...our baby will need both a mother and a father..."

"That's more like it!" Doug stood and embraced her.

"But Doug..."

"What?"

"There's just so many things we're gonna have to work out..."

"I know there are, but we'll work them out together." Doug gave her a reassuring kiss on the cheek. "Well, I was gonna take you out for lunch, but I guess it's a little late for that."

"Not if we hurry."

He took her through the McDonald's drive-thru for a burger and fries and then back to the office. She hurriedly ate her lunch and then told her boss, Dr. Hanson, that she needed to be examined.

"But I just examined you in September." Dr. Hanson frowned. "Is there a new problem?"

"Well, it's just that...I took a pregnancy test, and it came back positive."

Dr. Hanson just stared at her, shocked.

"It isn't a problem with me working here, is it?" Jo was suddenly anxious that she'd just put her job in jeopardy.

"No, of course not, but..." Suddenly her face showed that she understood. "The guy who came for you at lunchtime?"

Jo nodded. "His name's Doug Norman. He's really nice." Jo had never before discussed her personal life with her boss, and now she wondered whether that had been a mistake.

"Well, if you're able to stay for a few minutes after work today, I suppose I could fit you in then."

"Oh, thank you, Dr. Hanson!" Jo exclaimed.

Fifteen minutes after she'd clocked out, Jo lay back on an examination table with her feet up in stirrups while Dr. Hanson gave her a pelvic exam. "Well, congratulations," the physician said. "It looks like you're pregnant, all right. From the size of your uterus, I'd say you're about four weeks along. I'll do an ultrasound in a couple of weeks. We'll be more sure of your due date then."

"Why can't you do an ultrasound now?"

Dr. Hanson laughed. "Right now your baby's about the size of the fingernail on your pinky. We'll be able to see much more detail later on."

"I'm really too old for this, aren't I?" asked Jo.

"Apparently not, since it happened." The physician chuckled. "There are increased risks of complications such as gestational diabetes and eclampsia, and there's also a chance your baby could have a chromosomal abnormality such as Down's syndrome, but we'll check for all of that later on. Everything looks fine so far."

Jo felt a mixture of terror and excitement as she drove back home. Because of one careless mistake, her world was about to be turned upside down. What would life with Doug and a baby be like? Would she be able to continue working? If not, could Doug support a family of five? How would Clay and Jamie react to the news?

Jamie was in the middle of doing her homework when Jo entered the apartment. "You're late," she remarked without looking up.

"I know. I'm sorry." Jo sat down in the recliner with an exhausted _plop. _"I've got big news for you, Jamie. You're gonna be a big sister."

Jamie looked up, mouth agape, then began to dance around jubilantly. "I knew it! I knew it!" she sang. "I knew Doug was gonna knock you up!"

Jo frowned. "Jamie, that's not a very nice thing to say."

"I hope it's a girl," Jamie replied. "I've always wanted a baby sister."

Jo smiled indulgently and shook her head.

Doug called after dinner. "Are you all right, babe?"

"I'm OK, I guess. You?"

"I'm fine." He chuckled. "Don't worry about me. Did you talk to the doctor yet?"

"She examined me after I got off work. Said I was about four weeks along. She's gonna do an ultrasound in a couple of weeks."

A moment of silence followed.

"Doug?" Jo asked.

"I'm sorry, babe." He chuckled. "I guess I'm still trying to digest the news. Never in my wildest dreams did I ever imagine I'd be a father again some day."

"Neither did I. That I'd ever be a mother again, I mean."

"You tell Jamie?"

"Yeah. She says she wants a baby sister. You tell Clay?"

"Not yet. It's kind of awkward, you know. Here I've been lecturing him about not getting sexually involved, and now this happens...I'm afraid I'm gonna look like a real hypocrite."

"No reason for you to. You _are _a lot older than him, you know."

"Yeah, well I'm gonna have to tell him soon. I'll just have to think of the right way to do it." He paused. "Are you sure you're really all right, Jo?"

"Of course I am. Why are you so worried?"

"I guess it's just that..." He sighed. "Well, I know there are certain risks involved..." He didn't mention her age, but she knew that was what he was thinking about.

"I'm under a doctor's care, Doug. There's nothing to worry about. This _is _the twenty-first century, you know."

"Yeah." They talked at length about other topics, then said good-night. Jo was lying in bed that night when it occurred to her that he hadn't said anything at all about setting a wedding date.


	13. Frontier City

Jo didn't hear from Doug for a couple of nights in a row after that. She was beginning to worry when he called her on the third night, which was Friday.

"Well, I told him," he said.

"And?"

"And he said it was the stupidest thing he'd ever heard of. We haven't really spoken since then."

"Oh, no!" Jo moaned. "I'm so sorry!"

"It's all right. He'll come around eventually, once the shock wears off. Say, I was wonderin' whether you and Jamie would like to go to Frontier City tomorrow."

"Frontier City? I've heard of it, but we haven't been there yet."

"Aw, it's great! You'll love it! They got roller coasters, bumper boats...everything!"

"Do they have a double Ferris wheel?" Jo asked hopefully.

"I don't think it's double, but they got one."

"Well, that sounds like fun!"

"Great! I'll pick you both up at nine tomorrow morning, then."

Jamie was excited at the prospect of going to Frontier City. She'd looked forward to visiting the amusement park ever since she and her mother had moved to Oklahoma City.

"Where's Clay?" she asked when Doug arrived to pick them up the following morning.

"He didn't want to come," Doug said shortly.

"To Frontier City?" Jamie was very surprised.

"I feel really bad about that," Jo said softly.

"It's not your fault," Doug told her. "It's his."

"You mean he didn't want to come along because me and Mom are going?" asked Jamie.

"It's not that," Doug replied. "He's just having a hard time getting used to the way things are now."

"You mean the baby?" asked Jamie. "I think it's great!"

"So do I, but Clay doesn't," Doug said. "He accused me of trying to pretend like we're the Brady Bunch."

Jamie laughed. "We could never be the Brady Bunch. They had six kids!"

Doug chuckled, and that seemed to break up the tension.

When they reached the amusement park, Jamie immediately wanted to go on the roughest and wildest rides that were there. Doug rode a couple of them with her while Jo watched.

"That roller coaster sure looks like it would be fun," Jo said wistfully after Doug and Jamie had gone on a couple of rides together.

"We'll come back sometime after all this is over with," Doug promised, patting her belly affectionately.

Jamie rode a few things alone while Doug and Jo rode some of the gentler rides such as the carousel and the Ferris wheel together, and then they ate lunch in a cozy little cafe and then walked around looking at exhibits. Much later, there was a country music concert. Doug, Jo, and Jamie sat on the grass together listening to the music. Jo felt the warmth of Doug's hand covering her own and thought about how right everything suddenly felt.

"Are you girls having a good time?" Jo thought Doug sounded just a little bit anxious.

"I'm having a blast!" Jamie exclaimed.

"I'm enjoying myself very much," Jo told him with a yawn. "Thanks for taking us."

"Aw, it was my pleasure!" Doug gently stroked her cheek. "But I'm thinkin' maybe we better leave soon. I don't want to tire you out too much."

Stars were twinkling in the sky when he drove them back home. Jo dozed lightly with her head slumped against the car's window. Doug had to gently shake her awake when they got to her apartment.

"Boy, I really _did _tire you out, didn't I?" he asked.

"That's all right," Jo replied. "It was lots of fun."

He kissed her good-night and drove back home. She was asleep almost as soon as her head hit the pillow.

* * *

><p>Jo was too tired to get out of bed at all the following day. A little before noon, Doug came over, and Jamie let him in.<p>

"Who's there?" Jo called from the bedroom.

"It's me." He knocked lightly on her bedroom door. "Can I come in?"

"Sure, but I'm not very presentable right now," she told him.

"Are you all right?" he asked as he stepped into the room. "I missed you in church this morning." He looked very concerned as he came to her and sat on the side of the bed.

"I don't feel sick or anything," she told him. "I'm just really, really tired."

"We shouldn't have made the trip yesterday," said Doug. "That was just too much."

"Oh, no, I don't think it's because of that," Jo said quickly.

Gently his hand brushed the hair back from her face. "Can I get you anything? Some soup, perhaps?"

"Soup would be nice," Jo told him.

He made the soup and fed it to her, then visited for a couple of hours. He offered to spend the night until she assured him that she really would be all right.

She was at work the following afternoon when the vomiting began, waves of nausea sweeping over her in torrents. She'd never felt so sick before in her life.


	14. Clay

Dr. Hanson was waiting for her the last time she emerged from the restroom. "Are you all right?" she asked.

Jo shook her head. "I think I'm gonna have to go home. I'm too sick to keep on working."

"I'll give you some Phenergan," Dr. Hanson offered. "But don't take it until you get home. It'll make you too sleepy to drive."

"Thank you," Jo gasped.

Somehow she made it home and took the medication Dr. Hanson had given her, which helped for awhile, but then the vomiting returned. By the time Doug called her, she was so weak and dehydrated that she could hardly talk to him.

"I'm coming right over," he told her. He arrived within moments and rushed her to the hospital, where she was admitted right away and put on an IV. Doug dropped Jamie off at Taylor's house on the way to the hospital.

"You have what is called hyperemesis gravidarum," the emergency room physician told Jo. "You're going to have to stay here for a few days, until we can get your electrolytes back into balance."

"Drat!" Jo complained. "Now I'll have to see whether Jamie can stay with Taylor for a few days."

"If she can't, I could ask Grace," Doug offered.

"But Jamie doesn't even know her!" Jo exclaimed. "And I've only met her once!"

"Well, I've known her for twenty-three years," Doug said. "Clay's been left in her care many times, and nothing's ever happened to him."

"I'd still feel more comfortable asking Taylor's Mom, since I've been knowing her longer," Jo replied. Fortunately, Taylor's mother agreed to keep Jamie until Jo was released from the hospital, so she was able to put that worry to rest.

"Now all you have to worry about is getting better," Doug said as he brushed the hair back from her forehead with his fingers.

The medications they were giving her through her IV were making her very sleepy, so she was only vaguely aware of his presence for most of the evening. He stayed until visiting hours were over and then left, gently kissing her forehead and promising to return after work the following evening.

Jo felt much better the next day. She watched TV all night and then took a short nap, and after she awakened, she began to feel lonely and bored. At last, to her joy, Doug arrived.

"Hey, sweetie!" he exclaimed, giving her a warm embrace.

"I've never been so glad to see you," she murmured, burying her face in his shirt.

"Aw, darlin,'" he chuckled, rubbing her back. "How you been?"

"A lot better today," she told him. "I was able to keep some soup down at lunchtime."

"That's great!" he said.

"So how has your day been?" she asked. In jeans and a checked flannel shirt, she thought he looked ever so cuddly. She wished that she were sitting beside him on the sofa watching TV instead of lying in a hospital bed.

"It was all right," he told her. "I was worried about you all day, of course."

She smiled. "How's Clay?"

Doug sighed. "Still about the same. I told him what happened to you this morning. He didn't have much to say about it." In truth, Clay had made a snide remark about the situation, but Doug wasn't going to tell Jo that.

He stayed until visiting hours were over that evening as well, talking, watching TV, and even playing a card game or two.

"I'm so glad to see you're more back to your normal self again," he told her before leaving. "You were so sick yesterday. It really scared me."

"Yeah. I know," Jo agreed. "It was worse than that time I got food poisoning after eating a salad at K Mart."

"Well, I need to be headin' on home," he told her. "Good-bye, sweetie. I love you." He embraced her and softly kissed her lips.

"I love you, too," she told him.

She did so well the following day that the physician told her she could go home after lunch. She took a cab home and then called Doug's house and Taylor's house and left messages that she was home.

She turned on her computer to find three days' worth of unanswered email, ninety percent of which was advertisements. Once she'd deleted those, she noticed that there were three emails from her mother and felt guilty. She hadn't even told her mother about her pregnancy yet. She'd felt a knot of anxiety twist in her stomach every time she'd even thought about it. She knew she'd have to tell her eventually, but so far it had just been so much easier to keep putting it off.

She was still sitting at the computer wondering what to do when Jamie arrived home, having been driven to the apartment by Taylor's mother. "Mom!" the girl exclaimed, embracing Jo. "Are you all right?"

"I'm a lot better now, honey," Jo told her. "I'm just gonna have to take things easy for awhile."

"I'll do the cooking," Jamie offered.

"Thank you, sweetie," Jo said.

Dinner was a bit crunchy, but edible. Doug called shortly after the last dish had been put away. Jo heard the panic in his voice and immediately became alarmed.

"Clay's gone," he said in a shaky voice. "I can't find him anywhere!"


	15. Father Hanadarko

"Oh my God!" Jo exclaimed. "I'll be right over!"

"No, hon," Doug urged her. "You've got enough on your plate as it is. You stay right there and rest. I'll take care of this myself."

"But I _can't_ rest, worrying about you!"

"Listen, Jo," Doug said patiently. "There's nothing you can do to help. I've already called the police, and now I'm callin' everyone I know and everyone Clay knows. We'll eventually get to the bottom of this. You'd only be in the way, so stay there and rest." She could almost hear him smile. "And that's an order."

Jo turned on the television and tried to concentrate on the show she was watching. Doug called her back about forty-five minutes later. "Clay just called me," he told her. "He's at Grace's. Said he's gonna be stayin' there awhile, that he was tired of me ignorin' him and spendin' all my time with you and Jamie. I was so glad to finally hear from him that I didn't get into it with him about that. If he's with Grace, then he's all right."

"Well, I'm so glad you finally heard from him," said Jo.

"Yeah." Doug chuckled. "Now we've got a weddin' to plan, don't we?"

"I really want my Mom to be there, and my Aunt Evelyn and my cousins, if they can come," Jo told him. "She'd have to travel from New York."

"Well, there's no hurry. I'll see about talkin' to the priest on Sunday. You'll be there, won't you? If you're feelin' all right, I mean?"

"Of course. Jamie and I both will."

"I could pick you up again," Doug offered.

"Sounds great!"

Jo felt better for the rest of the week, throwing up only occasionally, and she planned to return to work on Monday. On Sunday, Doug arrived to take her and Jamie to church as he'd promised. When they arrived, Jo saw that Grace and Clay were sitting in one of the pews closer to the front. Jo smiled at Clay, and he looked away from her.

After the service, Doug went to talk to the priest, Father Hanadarko, who happened to be Grace's brother. "Jo and I plan to be married soon," Doug told the priest. "And we want you to perform the ceremony."

"I would be honored," Father Hanadarko replied. "Why don't you come to my office this afternoon at four and we can talk about it."

"Want to go out for lunch?" Doug asked Jo.

"Sure!" she replied.

He took her and Jamie to a country buffet restaurant. She had a salad and then fried chicken and mashed potatoes. About halfway through, she began to feel nauseated and made it to the bathroom just in time. Afterwards, she splashed cold water on her face and felt much better.

Doug was standing right outside the restroom when she opened the door. "Are you all right?" he asked anxiously.

"I'm fine," she told him with a smile. She was able to eat a few bites of peach cobbler before they left.

Doug invited Jo and Jamie back to his house after lunch. Jamie watched TV while Jo took a nap on Doug's bed. He sat beside her and rubbed her back until she fell asleep.

He awakened her at about three so that she could get ready for the appointment with Father Hanadarko. They arrived to find the church nearly deserted.

"It feels strange to come to church when there's no service, doesn't it?" Jo asked.

"Yep." Doug grinned.

He told the priest's secretary that they had an appointment at four o'clock, and she told them to have a seat in the lobby, which was brightly lit and contained several chairs made of red vinyl and a magazine rack made of dark wood.

"Come in," Father Hanadarko said pleasantly a few minutes later. His office was small but snug. A large bookcase occupied one entire corner, the floor had burgundy carpet, and across from the priest's desk were two comfortable leather chairs.

"So you two want to be married, and you feel that this is God's will for your lives," Father Hanadarko began.

"We do," Doug replied.

"I feel like I've known you for just about my whole life, Doug." The priest grinned. "But I've only recently become acquainted with your lovely fiancee. You were raised in the church, right, Jo?"

"Yes, sir."

"And you've been confirmed?"

"Yes, sir, right after my twelfth birthday."

"I'll need to see proof of that before I can marry you."

"My Mom has it. I'll have to get it from her."

"Very well, then. Bring that, and we can schedule the ceremony."

Doug and Jo walked back out to the parking lot hand in hand. "Now I'll have to tell my Mom," Jo remarked.

"You mean she doesn't know about me?" Doug sounded surprised, and more than a little hurt.

"I told her I'd met someone, but she doesn't know it's serious, and I _sure _haven't told her I'm pregnant."

"Why not?"

Jo sighed. "I guess I've just been too scared."

"Because you're not married?"

"Well...yeah."

Doug stopped walking and took her into his arms. "We'll tell her together, if you want."

"Yeah. I think I'd rather do it that way. I'll just tell her I'm getting married for now. I can wait and tell her about the baby in person when she gets here." Suddenly she grinned. "After the shock wears off, she's gonna be thrilled about being a grandmother again. She's said so many times what a shame it is that Jamie's an only child, and now she won't be anymore."


	16. Rose

All the way home, Jo debated whether she should send her mother an email about her upcoming marriage or tell her over the telephone, finally deciding on the latter. As soon as she was home, she dialed her mother's telephone number.

Rose Polniaczek was in the bathroom running water for her shower when she heard the telephone ringing. Quickly she shut the water off and dashed to the bedroom.

"Mom!" Jo exclaimed with relief when she heard her mother's voice. "I was afraid you weren't home."

"I was just about to take my shower, hon."

"Oh, I'm sorry!" Jo exclaimed. "I didn't mean to interrupt you."

"I know you didn't, honey," Rose replied. "That's all right. How have you and Jamie been? You know how I worry about you all the way over there on your own."

"It's not so terribly far," said Jo. "You'd better sit down, Mom. I've got some pretty big news."

"Well, let's hear it!"

"Are you sitting down?"

"Oh, for heaven's sake, Jo..." Jo could almost see her mother rolling her eyes.

"I'm getting married!"

_"Married? _To whom?"

"Doug Norman. I told you about him before."

"But Jo, you've known him for less than six months!"

"That's long enough, Mom. I love him and want to spend the rest of my life with him."

A long silence followed, broken by Rose. "Are you pregnant, Jo?"

Jo sighed. "We were going to tell you together, Mom."

"Joanna Marie Polniaczek! How could you have let this happen? You're not a teenager anymore. You're plenty old enough to know how to prevent such things from happening!"

"I know, Mom. It was my fault. I should have taken precautions, and I didn't. I thought I was too old for it to happen."

"At your age, Jo! Don't you realize how dangerous this is?"

"I know. That's why Dr. Hanson said she'd keep a close eye on me for the entire pregnancy."

"And how is Jamie taking all this?"

"She thinks it's really cool. She and Doug get along great."

"And you're sure this man really loves you and wants to take care of you?"

"I'm positive, Mom."

"So when is this wedding going to take place?"

"That's what I wanted to talk to you about. We talked to the priest, and he said he needs my confirmation papers before he can marry us."

"Well, that's no problem. I'll bring them just as soon as I can get a flight over there. I want to meet the man who's gotten my daughter in this condition."

"Don't blame Doug, Mom. I'm the one who told him it wouldn't happen at my age."

"Both of you are to blame," Rose stated. "But it's too late to do anything about it now. I'll be there as soon as I can get a flight out."

"Thanks, Mom. Please don't forget the confirmation papers. And Mom...I love you."

"I love you too, sweetie. Take care."

Jo was dizzy with relief as she hung up.

* * *

><p>Jo sent emails to Mrs. Garrett, Blair, Natalie, Tootie, her Aunt Evelyn, and her cousins Bud, Paul, Terry, and Mike. They all congratulated her and said that they'd try to make it to the wedding. Doug called Monday evening.<p>

"I talked to my Mom," Jo told him. "I told her I was getting married and needed my confirmation papers. She asked me if I was pregnant, and I couldn't lie to her."

Doug gave a low whistle. "And what did she say about it?"

"Well, needless to say, she wasn't pleased, but I think she'll come around."

"I'm sure she will, darlin.'"

"How's Clay?"

"He's fine. Back at home now. Earl had a good, long talk with him, and he's doin' much better now."

"I'm so glad," Jo replied. "Whatever would we do without Earl?"

Doug laughed. "Hope we never have to find out."

Jo wondered what her mother would say if she knew that not only did angels really exist, but her daughter knew one personally.

* * *

><p>Rose arrived in Oklahoma City late Wednesday night. Jo and Jamie were at the airport to meet her.<p>

"Grandma!" Jamie exclaimed, rushing to hug her.

"Hi, darling!" Rose said as she embraced her granddaughter. "Has everything been all right? How's school?"

"Great, Grandma! I made the honor roll on my last report card!"

"Now _that's _the news I like to hear." Rose turned to her daughter. "Hello, Jo."

"Mom." Jo was near tears as she hugged her mother's neck.

"There, there," Rose murmured as she patted Jo's back. "Everything's going to be all right."

Jo drove her mother to her motel room, where the three of them stayed up until about midnight talking. At last an exhausted Jo drove her daughter back to their apartment and went to bed, where she fell asleep almost immediately.


	17. Jo And Doug's Wedding

"Doug, Clay, this is my Mom, Rose Polniaczek," Jo said. "Mom, this is Doug Norman and his son Clay."

"Pleased to meet you, ma'am." Doug smiled and shook Rose's hand.

"Yes." Rose didn't smile.

It was the following afternoon, and Jo had driven Doug and Clay to her mother's motel room to meet her. Doug had offered to take the entire group out to dinner that evening.

"Well, are we off, then?" asked Doug. Rose rode in the front seat beside him, and Jo rode in the back with Clay and Jamie.

"You're gonna love my Grandma," Jamie told Clay. "She's really cool."

"I don't even remember my Grandma," Clay replied. "She died before I was born."

"Both of them?"

"Yep."

They arrived at the restaurant and were seated. "You _are _eating healthy, aren't you?" Rose asked her daughter. "You know how important that is in your condition, especially considering your age."

"Don't worry, Mom," Jo replied. "I'm watching my diet very carefully."

"Are you sure you're getting enough iron?" asked Rose. "You know, when I was pregnant with you, they started me on iron supplements right away."

"I'm taking them, and prenatal vitamins, too."

"Good." Rose looked satisfied.

Their food arrived, and to Jo's relief, she managed to keep everything down this time.

"Jo tells me you're in landscaping," Rose said to Doug.

"Yep. Been doin' that for about thirty years now."

"And you own your own home?"

"Sure do."

"Jo tells me your first wife was killed in the Oklahoma City bombing."

"That's right."

"You must have gotten some kind of settlement from that, didn't you?"

"Mom!" Jo whispered furiously, kicking her mother underneath the table.

"Well, I _do _have to make sure you and this baby you're having are gonna be taken care of."

"You forget that I work too, Mom."

"And how long are you gonna be able to keep working with a baby to take care of?"

"We'll find a way."

After dinner, Doug dropped Jo off at her motel and then took Jo and Jamie home. "I'm sorry about my Mom," Jo told Doug. "I know she seems awfully nosy sometimes."

"That's all right." Doug chuckled. "If I had a daughter, I'd imagine Id be just as protective of her."

"You may well have a daughter in less than a year from now," Jo pointed out.

"Or another son."

"Does it matter to you which we have?"

"Not one bit, as long as it's healthy."

"Yeah, that's the way I feel, too."

He walked her to the door, kissed her good-bye, and then left.

* * *

><p>Mrs. Garrett, Blair, Natalie, Tootie, and Jo's aunt and cousins all flew into Oklahoma City over the next few days. They were all happy to meet Doug, Clay, Grace, and Earl. Jo didn't reveal Earl's true identity to any of her family members or friends, as she didn't want to take any of the focus away from her upcoming wedding.<p>

She took her confirmation papers to Father Hanadarko, and he scheduled the wedding for that Sunday. Doug's groom's men were Clay and Jo's cousins Paul and Mike. Jo's bridesmaids were Jamie, Blair, and Tootie's daughter, Tisha. Earl walked Jo down the aisle to give her away.

"Wow, that's really it! We're married now!" Jo exclaimed when the ceremony was over. Doug smiled triumphantly as he took her hand and walked with her to his car.

He'd arranged for them to spend several days at a cozy little bed and breakfast beside a lake. Jo, who'd never stayed at a bed and breakfast before, looked forward to the adventure. When she opened the door of the bedroom in which they'd be staying, she had to gasp in delight. The walls were painted a cheery yellow, and the window opening onto the view of the lake had white lace curtains. The bed had a canopy, which was also made of lace, and on each side of the bed was a table with a lamp. A yellow shag rug was at the foot of the bed, and tapestries with nature scenes were hung on the walls.

"I think I could spend about a month in here without coming out once," Jo yawned.

Doug laughed. "Why don't you take a nap? You're tired."

Jo, who'd nearly fallen asleep in the car on the way to the bed and breakfast, eagerly slipped off her shoes and crawled beneath the covers. She awakened to find Doug sitting in a chair beside the bed, reading. From the way the sun's light was shining through the window, she could tell that she'd been asleep for several hours.

"Wow! I must have been more tired than I thought," she exclaimed.

"I knew you'd need the rest," Doug replied. "I've got a big evening planned for us."

"Oh? Starting when?" Jo grinned.

"As soon as you can get ready."

Quickly Jo dashed to the restroom to freshen up, wondering what her new husband had planned.


	18. Sharing Memories

_Warning: mild lemon_

"Well, here it is!" Doug announced, winking at his new wife.

Eagerly Jo followed him to the door, gasping in surprise when she saw the horse-drawn carriage. "Wow! For us?" she exclaimed.

"After you, ma'am." Doug grinned and bowed to her.

"Oh, Doug, you're so romantic!"

He helped her into the carriage, and they were off. The cool night breeze caressed Jo's face as they rode along, and the atmosphere was peaceful and serene.

"Everything just looks so different from the way it does in the daytime!" Jo marveled.

"It does, doesn't it?" Doug agreed. "It's almost like seeing it for the first time again." They rode past the Myriad Botanical Gardens, the Crystal Bridge Conservatory, the Skydance Pedestrian Bridge, and many other landmarks. At last the carriage stopped at the Bricktown Riverwalk.

"Oh, are we going on the canal?" Jo asked excitedly.

Doug winked at her. "Wait and see."

They dismounted from the carriage and walked to the dock, where they boarded a water taxi. "I've never been on one of these before!" Jo exclaimed.

Doug laughed. "I told you I had a big evening planned, didn't I?"

The view of the canal from the water taxi was breathtaking. Mesmerized, Jo hardly noticed when a waiter appeared to take their order. "So this is dinner and a cruise, all in one?" she asked. "I don't believe it!"

"You've never been on a dinner cruise before?" Doug's eyes were twinkling.

"Never!"

Dinner was delicious, and Jo found that she was ravenous. She ate every bite, and afterwards, she and Doug cuddled together, gazing up at the stars.

When they returned to the bed and breakfast, Jo began to remove her husband's clothing almost as soon as they were inside. She started with his suit jacket, then removed his tie, and slowly, ever so slowly, unbuttoned his shirt. She removed it and his undershirt, then placed hot kisses all the way down his chest until she reached his belly button. Pausing only long enough to unfasten his belt and unbutton and unzip his pants, she shoved them and his underwear down in one swift, fluid motion.

He gasped in surprise and delight as she took him into her mouth and began to use her lips, tongue, and fingers to bring him pleasure. "Oh, Jo," he whispered as his fingers lightly swept through her hair.

His moans of pleasure grew louder as he began to thrust, and when she knew that he was close, she gave him a final loving pat and stood to kiss his lips.

"Whoa, Jo!" he laughed when they both came up for air. "I didn't know you were into that!"

"Didn't you like it?" she asked anxiously.

"I _loved _it!" he quickly assured her. "It's just that I never would have guessed..."

"I wanted to thank you for the most wonderful evening of my life." She took his hand and led him to the bed. "Now, let's finish what we started..."

* * *

><p>The remainder of the time Jo and Doug spent at the bed and breakfast was a glorious period spent walking along the lake hand in hand, cuddling together while watching television, and making love. Although she missed her family and friends, Jo dreaded returning to her regular humdrum life.<p>

"You look a bit down, hon," Doug remarked as they loaded their suitcases into the car's trunk.

"Yeah." Jo sighed. "It's just that the past few days have been so much fun that I hate to see them end."

"I know," Doug said softly, taking her into his arms and holding her for a few seconds. "I promise, we'll do it again sometime, really soon." He kissed her forehead, and then they were off.

* * *

><p>One afternoon a few days later, Doug found his wife looking at one of her old high school yearbooks. "This is Miss Gallagher," Jo told him. "She was my English teacher one year. I got to know her really well. We had an incredible amount in common. She didn't even live to see her thirtieth birthday."<p>

"Gosh, what happened?"

"Cancer."

"That's terrible! It must have really hurt you."

"Yeah. I never completely got over it. I still think about her a lot." She turned to another page. "Here I am with Blair, Natalie, and Tootie. We look so young, don't we!"

"You all look pretty much the same, except that you can tell Natalie's lost a lot of weight since high school."

"She really has! I was amazed," Jo agreed.

"Want to see what I looked like in high school?" Doug asked.

"I'll bet you looked like a hippie, didn't you?"

"I'll let you decide that." He quickly glanced through his bookshelf. "Ah, here it is! My senior year." He lifted the yearbook from its place, leafed through the pages, and then showed it to Jo. "See, here I am...check out that sixties hair!"

Doug looked just like a forty-years-younger version of himself, except that his hair was longer and all dark brown rather than salt-and-pepper, and he was thinner as well.

"Wow, you were really hip...or should I say 'groovy'?"

He laughed heartily.

"So, did you join any Vietnam war protests?" she asked him.

"Nah, I was never much into civil unrest."

"I was just a little kid when all that was going on," said Jo. "I always felt like I missed out on a really exciting era."

"The first landing on the moon happened the summer after I graduated high school," Doug told her. "I remember that just like it was yesterday!"

For the first time, the fifteen-year age gap between herself and her husband made a deep impression upon Jo.


	19. The Time Warp

"What's wrong?" Doug asked Jo after they'd put the yearbooks away. "You got real quiet all of a sudden there."

"Nothing, really." Jo sighed. "Doug, do you ever think it's weird that we're so far apart in age?"

"It's never mattered to me." His brown eyes were serious. "Does it matter to you?"

"Well...no, not really. At least I _thought _it didn't. I guess it's just that after looking at these old yearbook pictures, I feel like I'm in some kind of time warp or something."

Doug laughed. "It's funny you said that, 'cause when I was in my twenties, this movie called 'The Rocky Horror Picture Show' came out, and there was this dance called the 'Time Warp' in it."

"You used to watch 'The Rocky Horror Picture Show'?" Excited, Jo had forgotten about the yearbooks.

"Oh, yes! We'd dress up like the characters, throw stuff at the screen...it was a real blast!"

"We used to do that too!" Jo grinned. "You know, maybe we don't have such a big generation gap, after all!"

* * *

><p>"Well, here goes," Jo said, lying back on the table as she'd been instructed. Because of her age, Dr. Hanson had wanted her to undergo an amniocentesis to rule out genetic abnormality in the baby. Doug held her hand as the technician smeared cold gel on her belly, and a moment later, they were looking at their baby's tiny form on the screen, marveling at the movements of its arms and legs.<p>

"Here goes," said the technician. Jo gasped as the needle plunged into her abdomen, and she and Doug both held their breath as they watched it appear on the screen. They both heaved sighs of relief when it was removed a couple of seconds later.

"Go home and rest for the remainder of the day," the technician told Jo as she placed a bandage on her abdomen. "Don't go to work tomorrow. We'll call you as soon as we have the results."

When they got home, Jo went right to bed. Doug made her soup and brought it into the bedroom and sat beside the bed while she ate it.

"Do you feel all right, hon?" he asked.

"I'm fine," Jo told him. "Just glad that's over with."

"Tell me about it." He chuckled. "We've got ourselves a real live wire, haven't we? It squirmed around so much I was afraid the needle was gonna hit it."

"I was too," said Jo.

"I remember the first time I felt Clay move." Doug's eyes became slightly glazed over. "Mary Frances and I were sitting on the sofa watching TV together and she took my hand and put it on her belly. 'Wait just a minute', she told me, and sure enough, I felt him move after a few seconds. That was awesome!"

"Did you watch him being born?" asked Jo.

"I sure did! It happened in the wee hours of the morning. Mary Frances had been in labor for hours. She was exhausted, poor thing. They gave her an epidural, and that let her sleep for a few hours. They came and woke her up when it was time for him to be born. He was all limp and blue when he first came out, and it scared me a little bit, but after I cut the cord, he started moving around and crying. That was the happiest moment in the world for us." His voice shook a little, and he had to wipe tears from his eyes. Jo knew that, even after all the years, he still wasn't completely over his first wife's tragic death.

"Jamie was almost born in the back seat of the car," Jo told her husband. "I waited until it was nearly too late to tell Rick that it was time to go to the hospital, and it was pouring down rain and there was an accident ahead, and by the time we got to the hospital, she was already crowning. She was born in the emergency room. We never made it to the maternity floor."

"There ain't no messing around with her, is there?" Doug laughed. Over the months, he'd developed a fond affection for his stepdaughter, coming to see her as the daughter he'd never had. He admired her spunk and enthusiasm and felt protective of her.

After lunch, Jo took a nap. Sometime later, she heard Clay come home from school and disappear into his bedroom. An hour or so after that, Jamie also arrived home and came into Jo and Doug's bedroom.

"Are you all right, Mom?" she asked.

"I went for my amniocentesis today," Jo told her. "They told me to go to bed for the rest of the day."

"Isn't that where they stick a needle in your belly?"

"Yep."

"Wow! Didn't that hurt?"

"It wasn't that bad."

Jamie grimaced. "I sure hope _I _never have to have that done."

"Don't have any kids after you're thirty-five," Jo said wryly.

* * *

><p>Jo was at work when they called her with the results of her amniocentesis. "Everything came back completely normal," the nurse told her.<p>

"Thank God!" Jo exclaimed.

"I can also tell you the baby's sex, if you want to know," the nurse continued.

"Yeah, that would be cool," Jo said after only a moment's hesitation.


	20. Mall Scare

Jo couldn't wait to tell Doug the news. She called the office where he worked and left a message for him to call her back, and on her lunch break, she headed straight to WalMart to look around in the newborn department. She noticed that the styles had changed since Jamie had been a baby. Frilly dresses with rows of lace were no more; instead, the clothing seemed almost unisex except for color and decoration.

Mesmerized, Jo spent most of her lunch break shopping and finally bought a package of pink and purple onesies and a hot pink terry cloth sleeper. She went through the McDonald's drive-through and bought a hamburger on the way back to work.

She was busy filing when Doug called a couple of hours later. "I got the amniocentesis results this morning. I couldn't wait to tell you!" she exclaimed.

"Is everything all right?"

"Everything's fine! And Doug...we're having a girl!"

"Wow, honey, that's great!" Doug exclaimed. "I can't wait to tell the kids!"

"Me neither," said Jo. "I hope they're both happy about it. Wait till you see these cute little outfits I found at WalMart!"

Doug laughed. "I'll bet you had a blast shopping, didn't you?"

"Yeah. It was a lot of fun." Jo giggled. "Can't wait to do it again."

"I'm sure you can't. I'll see you later, sweetheart. Love you."

"Love you too. Bye."

Although she was tired, Jo finished her work day and returned home to find Jamie doing homework and Clay watching television. "Guess what!" she announced. "You're gonna have a baby sister in about five more months!"

"Hurray!" Jamie exclaimed. "I've always wanted a baby sister!"

Clay grimaced.

Doug arrived home a few minutes later and hugged and kissed his wife hello. "Did you already tell them?" he asked her.

"I'm sorry," said Jo. "I was just so excited that I forgot to wait for you."

"That's all right." Doug chuckled. "So what do you think, guys?"

"I think it's great!" said Jamie.

"It's all right, I guess," Clay said nonchalantly.

Jo was preparing for bed that night when Doug hugged her from behind and began to place kisses along the side of her neck. She turned her head so that his next kiss fell on her lips, and soon their kissing became passionate. Doug gently laid his wife on her back on the bed and began to remove her clothing.

"But what about the baby?" asked Jo.

"I promise I'll be very gentle." He took his time stroking and kissing her gently rounded belly, and when they were both ready, he entered her from behind. Afterwards, they lay cuddling and talking softly together.

"We need to come up with a name soon, you know," Doug said.

"What about Magdalena?" Jo suggested. "That was my grandmother's name. We could call her Maggie for short."

"Maggie." Doug made a face.

"Oh, yeah," Jo said softly. "I'm sorry. I forgot."

"My Mom's name was Elizabeth," Doug suggested.

"Too long and cumbersome, and kind of overused," Jo objected. "How about Bethany?"

"I like it!" Doug grinned. "But we need a middle name, too."

"How about Rose, after my Mom?"

"Bethany Rose Norman, that's perfect!"

"Clay seems less than thrilled," Jo remarked.

"Aw, he'll get over it," Doug replied.

* * *

><p>That Saturday, the whole family went to the mall. Jo and Doug left Jamie at the earring store and Clay at the Xbox game store and went to look for new clothes for Jo at the maternity store, as she was beginning to outgrow all her regular ones. She found a nice slip and dress to wear to church, a couple of pairs of slacks, a couple of blouses, and a pair of shorts.<p>

She was looking at bras when a saleslady approached her and asked if she was planning to nurse.

"Why...yes, I suppose I am," Jo told her. She'd planned to take six weeks off from work after the baby was born and thought she'd breastfeed for those six weeks.

"Then I think you'd like this one," the saleslady suggested, selecting a bra from the rack and showing it to Jo. "It's made to provide support during pregnancy, and then after the baby comes, the straps unfasten, like this." She demonstrated.

"How nice," Jo said, then saw the price tag and gulped.

"Aw, get it if you want it," said Doug, who'd witnessed the entire interaction.

"Thanks," said Jo.

From there they went to the bookstore, where Jo found a thick book on pregnancy that included illustrations. "See, this is what our baby looks like now," she said, showing one of the pictures to Doug.

After awhile, she began to worry about Jamie. "She's been on her own in the earring store for awhile now," she remarked. "We'd better go back and make sure she's all right."

They returned to the earring store to find that, to Jo's alarm, her daughter was nowhere to be found.


	21. Just Like Any Typical Brother And Sister

"Jamie? Jamie!" Jo called, racing all the way around the earring store. "She's not here!"

"I'm sure she just got tired of looking in here and moved on to another store," Doug told his wife.

Jo dashed in and out of the next several stores, frantically searching for her daughter. She was just about to go in search of mall security when suddenly a security guard was there, escorting an angry-looking Clay, a frightened-looking Jamie, and another boy of about Clay's age.

"Do any of these kids belong to you?" the security guard asked Doug and Jo.

"These two do," Doug replied, indicating Clay and Jamie.

"Then I suggest you take them home right away," the security guard told him. "I found the two boys fighting and had to separate them. I was just about to call the juvenile authorities when you showed up."

Doug took Clay roughly by the arm and led him out to the car, and Jo did the same with Jamie. "You want to tell me what that was all about?" Doug asked Clay as he was driving the family home.

"That guy was gonna hurt her, Dad," Clay replied. "I know him from school. I know how he treats girls. I saw him with Jamie and asked what he was doing with her. 'Wouldn't you like to know,' he said. 'That's my sister and I don't want her to be with you,' I said. 'What you gonna do about it?" he asked. I got really mad and hit him, and he hit me back, and that's when the security guard saw us."

"How did you meet this guy?" Jo asked her daughter.

"He came into the earring store and offered to buy me an ice cream cone," Jamie said nonchalantly.

"And you just left with him? Don't you realize how _dangerous _that was?"

"It was just an ice cream, Mom."

"Jamie, you know that our agreement was that you were to stay where I left you until I came back to get you. It's always been that way. No exceptions."

"I'm sorry."

"When we get home, you're to go straight to your room and stay there until I tell you you can come out, and you're also grounded for a week."

"Mom, that's not _fair!" _Jamie whined.

"What you did was really dangerous, Jamie," Jo told her. "You don't know what that boy might have ended up doing to you."

As soon as they reached the house, Jamie stomped angrily to her room, slamming the door shut behind her.

* * *

><p>"Do you think I was too hard on her?" Jo asked Doug later as they were watching TV together. He was sitting on the sofa, and she was lying with her head in his lap while he rubbed her back.<p>

"No," he said. "She does have to be taught a lesson."

"Mm," she moaned, relishing the sensation of his fingers stroking her through her clothes.

"Do you suppose I should have been harder on Clay?" he asked after a minute. "He _did _admit to being the one who threw the first punch."

"No," Jo said quickly. "He was only looking out for Jamie. It really scares me to think about what might have happened to her if he hadn't been there to rescue her from that other boy."

"I know," Doug replied. "That's why I didn't punish him."

"He does really care about her, Doug," Jo said. "That means a lot to me."

"I think in lots of ways they're just like any typical brother and sister," said Doug.

"I was really hoping it would turn out that way," Jo replied. "I've always thought it would be neat for Jamie to have a big brother."

Doug grinned. "She's got one now."

* * *

><p>Summer vacation arrived, and instead of sending Jamie to New York to stay with her grandmother, Jo left her to stay home with Clay in the mornings. One day Doug told Jo that he'd made plans to go camping with his cousin Erskine and his family.<p>

"Is Erskine his first name or his last name?" asked Jo.

"It's just what everyone's always called him," said Doug. "He's a minister. His wife's name is Ada, and she's a singer. His kids are Andy, Bits, and Cassie. Andy and Bits are from his first wife. She died of cancer. Cassie's his daughter with Ada."

"Kind of like us," Jo commented. "What kind of minister is he?"

"Methodist, I think."

"How old are his kids?"

"Andy's grown. He's away doing some kind of missionary thing right now. Bits is a couple of years older than Clay, and Cassie's about nine or ten."

"So that's gonna be four adults and four kids, then."

"Yeah, but it'll be all right. I've got a tent that's big enough for four."

Neither Clay nor Jamie were thrilled when they heard the news. "Do I _have _to go?" Clay protested. "I wanted to get together with some friends that weekend!"

"And I was gonna have Taylor over to spend the night!" Jamie added.

"This is your family," Doug told them. "It's important to me and your Mom for you to be there."

"Well...all right," Clay grumbled. Jamie made a face. Doug and Jo exchanged glances and grinned.


	22. The Camping Trip

On the appointed day, Doug drove his family to the camp grounds to meet Erskine's family. Jo was surprised to see that her husband's cousin's family had arrived in a large recreational vehicle.

"Oh, wow!" Jamie exclaimed.

Jo was startled at the resemblance between Clay and Erskine. They were both about the same age and had the same curly dark brown hair and brown eyes.

Ada was blonde and looked to be a few years older than Jo. Bits was a very pretty young woman with her father's hair and eyes, and Cassie strongly resembled her older sister.

"You have such an interesting nickname," Jo said to Bits. "How did you get it?"

"When I was a baby, I was very tiny and petite, so the family called me 'Little Bits.' After awhile, it got shortened to 'Bits'."

"Your camper is really awesome!" Jamie told her new relatives. "All we have is a lousy tent." She wrinkled her nose.

Ada laughed. "It's a recreational vehicle. You're all welcome to sleep in it with us tonight if you want. We have plenty of room."

"Wow, thanks!"

Doug looked a little disappointed, but Jo secretly felt glad that she'd be spending the night in a recreational vehicle instead of a tent. The group took awhile to get settled, then set out on a hike. Ada seemed very friendly and wanted to know all about Jo and Jamie. Jo told her about her first marriage and Rick's death.

"I was married before too," said Ada. "My first husband's name was Chuck. He was killed in a car crash only a couple of years after we were married."

"That's terrible!" Jo exclaimed. "I'm so sorry!"

"I was devastated," Ada replied. "Then I started attending Erskine's church and fell in love with him. His first wife had died of cancer right around the time Chuck died. He was very bitter about it, but I helped him get over that, and after awhile, we realized that we were really in love and got married."

"Aw, that's really sweet!" said Jo. "I suppose things happened kind of fast for me and Doug, and there have been some adjustments to make, but we love each other very much and we're really happy together."

"When's your baby due?" asked Ada, looking at Jo's swollen belly.

"November." Jo grimaced. "I still have a good ways to go."

"Are you all right?"

"I have something called hyperemesis gravidarum," Jo told her. "It's not as bad now, but a few weeks ago, I got so sick I had to be hospitalized. I couldn't keep anything at all down."

"Oh, no! Well, I'm sure glad you're doing better now."

Later, the group gathered around the campfire to toast hotdogs and then marshmallows. Bits and Cassie seemed really happy. Clay and Jamie seemed resigned to the situation. At least they were polite to everyone.

As Ada had promised, the recreational vehicle had plenty of room for all eight people to sleep. Jo stretched luxuriously in the comfortable sleeping compartment as Doug slipped between the cool sheets and wrapped his arms around her.

"Mm," she murmured.

"I was kind of hoping for a little more privacy," he murmured.

"It's only for two nights," she reminded him.

"And I intend to fully make up for lost time when we get back," he replied.

Jo noticed a slight ache in her lower right side but tried to ignore it. She was able to get a normal night's sleep, and in the morning, the pain was slightly worse but not yet unbearable. The two families had breakfast and then spent the morning fishing. Cassie, the most gregarious of the group, kept up an almost non-stop running dialogue. Her father told her several times to ease up on the constant flow of words. "You're going to scare all the fish away," he told her.

In the end, they caught more than enough fish for dinner than night. The pain in Jo's side grew more severe as the day wore on, but she bit her lip and bore it as well as she could. That night, she awoke in the middle of the night in agony.

Cold beads of sweat broke out on her skin as she debated whether or not to awaken Doug. She still had her appendix. Was there a chance she had appendicitis?

Doug awakened and gasped in shock at the sight of his wife's face. "Jo! What's wrong? You're white as a sheet!"

"It hurts." Jo rubbed her abdomen, struggling not to cry.

Alarmed, Doug roused Clay and Jamie and prepared to leave, apologizing to Erskine and Ada for the interrupted trip.

"Oh that's all right!" Ada exclaimed. "I hope you get better soon, sweetie!"

Clay and Jamie were very concerned about Jo as well. Doug drove back into town as quickly as he could, passing slower vehicles and even running a stop sign or two. Fortunately, he avoided being pulled over.

At last he reached the hospital, where he dropped Jo and the kids off at the emergency room entrance and then went to find a parking space. By now, Jo could hardly walk, and Clay and Jamie had to help her into the emergency room, where a nurse took one look at her and instantly called for a stretcher.


	23. Recuperation

"It's a good thing you got her here when you did," the nurse told Doug. "She has a raging kidney infection. We'll have to keep her here for several days to administer antibiotics through an IV."

"When can we see her?" asked Doug.

"She'll be moved to a private room shortly," the nurse replied. "You can go back and see her then." Doug paced the emergency room floor while Clay played aimlessly with his cell phone and Jamie stared numbly at the television. About thirty minutes later, another nurse came and told Doug that Jo had been admitted and was resting comfortably.

She was lying in bed with an IV in her arm, looking very pale, when they entered the room. Her face brightened as soon as she saw her husband and children.

"Hey." Doug sat beside the bed and took her hand. "You gave us all quite a scare there, young lady."

"I didn't want to ruin the camping trip," Jo said weakly. "You guys were having so much fun."

"You mean the pain didn't start just this morning?" Doug was shocked.

Jo shook her head. "It started the first night we were there," she admitted. "I tried my best to ignore it, and for awhile it wasn't so bad, but this morning it just got so intense that I couldn't stand it anymore."

"Oh, Jo, you should have told me when you first started hurtin'!" Doug gently scolded. "I would have brought you to the hospital right away. The camping trip could have waited until another time!"

"I just didn't want to wreck your fun..." Jo mumbled.

"No, no, sweetie! Don't you realize that you're more important to me than any camping trip?"

She grinned. "That's nice to know."

He laughed. "Of _course _you are!" Softly his fingers stroked her cheek. "Are you feelin' any better now, babe?"

"A little bit. They're giving me something for pain in my IV. They promised me that it wouldn't hurt the baby."

"That's good." Doug swept the hair back from her forehead and kissed it. "Get some rest now."

* * *

><p>Jo responded well to the antibiotics and was released from the hospital several days later. Doug took a half day off from work and came to pick her up around noon.<p>

"It feels like I've been gone for ages," she remarked as she entered the house. "What would you like for dinner tonight?" She headed for the freezer to take the meat out to thaw.

"I'll take care of dinner," Doug told her. "You just get some rest."

"Aw, you're such a sweetheart!" Jo gave him a quick hug and kiss on the cheek. He grinned and blushed slightly.

He prepared a delicious meal of salad, steak and potatoes that even Clay and Jamie complimented him on. Later, Clay and Jamie were in their rooms and Jo and Doug were together in the living room when Doug selected a CD, and soon the strains of 'I Hope You Dance' by Leanne Womack filled the air. "Shall we dance?" Doug asked Jo.

She went into his arms, the front of her body pressed against his, and as they began to move together, she felt the gentle nudge of a tiny knee from inside her abdomen. "Did you feel that?" she asked.

"Was that her?"

"Uh huh."

His hands softly caressed her back as she rested her head on his shoulder. "I'm sorry I've been such a sicko lately," she mumbled.

"Aw, babe, it ain't your fault!" he told her. "Lots of women have a hard time when they're pregnant. The baby will be here in just a few months, and then everything will be fine again."

"We were so looking forward to being alone together after we got home, and now we have to wait until I've finished my antibiotics," she said. "I feel like it's not fair to you."

"Well, it's even more unfair to you. You're the one who got sick," he pointed out.

"Thanks for being so nice about it," she replied.

"Aw, you don't have to thank me for that," he told her.

Later, they lay cuddling together. "It feels so nice to be in my own bed again," Jo sighed.

"It's great to be able to hold you in my arms again," Doug replied, squeezing her tightly. The baby inside her stirred again. Soon they were both sound asleep.


	24. The Football Game

The first day of school drew near. Clay was going into the eleventh grade, and Jamie was going into the eighth grade. The Saturday before the first day of classes, Doug and Jo took Clay and Jamie to WalMart to shop for school supplies. By now Jo's feet were so swollen that she couldn't wear anything but flip flops, and her hands were so swollen than she could no longer wear her wedding ring.

"I feel like a house," she complained as they steered the cart through the tightly packed aisles.

"I sure hope I don't see anybody I know," Clay muttered.

"Oh, look!" Jamie exclaimed. "A shoe sale!"

"We're here to buy school supplies," her mother reminded her.

"I know, but since we're here anyway...hey, look! These are only two dollars a pair! And look, they come in every color!" She started adding sandals to the shopping cart as her mother rolled her eyes.

"Yo, Clay! Going shopping with Mommy and Daddy?" a teenage boy hooted. He and his friends laughed.

"Shut up!" Clay muttered fiercely through his teeth.

"Better stock up on these while they're here." Doug started placing folders of various colors into the cart.

Jo suddenly felt dizzy and out of breath. "I need to sit down," she told Doug, grasping his arm.

"Are you all right?" he asked anxiously.

"I'll be OK," she assured him. "It's just my asthma. It gets worse when I'm pregnant."

Doug led her to the diner, where he bought her an iced tea and sat with her. "Remember when we met here right after the accident?" asked Jo.

"Sure do." Doug grinned. "Seems like a million years ago, doesn't it?"

"An awful lot has happened since then, that's for sure." After drinking her tea, Jo felt much better, and the family continued their shopping and then went home.

Taylor came over for a sleepover, and Jamie showed her friend her new sandals and school supplies. Jo watched television for awhile and then got a severe backache. Doug massaged her back until it felt better.

That night Jamie and Taylor sat up until four o'clock in the morning watching scary movies and eating popcorn. Jo watched along with them until she got tired and went to bed.

The following day was Sunday, but since Taylor was still there, Jo stayed home with the girls while Doug and Clay went to church.

"How did it go?" Jo asked when they returned.

"It went all right," Doug replied. "Everyone asked about you."

"Did they really?"

"They did. Especially Grace."

"I didn't know they liked me that well." Even though she'd been accompanying Doug to church for a few months now, Jo still felt like something of an outsider there.

"Of course they do. Why wouldn't they?"

* * *

><p>Several weeks later, Jo and Jamie accompanied Doug and Clay to Clay's high school's first football game of the year. The weather had turned crisp and cool, and Jo wore a heavy sweater.<p>

"I haven't been to a high school football game since I was in high school myself," Jo told her husband.

"You'd better get used to them." Doug chuckled. "High school football games are a staple in this family."

They arrived to find the stadium sparsely populated. "Want to sit here?" asked Doug, stopping about halfway up the bleachers.

"Here's fine," replied Jo. They and Jamie sat down while Clay went in search of his friends.

After awhile, Jo noticed that Earl was sitting by himself near them. He saw her and came over to say hello.

"How's everything going?" he asked, looking at her swollen belly.

"Fine so far," she replied. "I had no idea you liked football."

"Of course I do. Why shouldn't I?" he said. "Did you think I just like sitting around on clouds playing a harp all the time?"

"To be honest, I had no idea how angels liked to spend their spare time," Jo admitted.

Earl laughed. "Can't speak for all of 'em. Just myself."

Clay's school's team won the game that night. Jo wondered whether Earl had anything to do with that.


	25. Snowstorm

November arrived, and with it, the season's first snowfall. It came one Saturday afternoon when Doug, Jo, and Clay were home. Jamie had spent the night at Taylor's house and was still there.

Jo was in the kitchen baking banana bread when she saw the first flakes hit the window. "Doug! It's snowing!" she called excitedly. "Come see!"

Doug, who'd been in the living room watching football with Clay, came running. "Well, all right!" he exclaimed. He stood at the window silently watching the snow fall for awhile. "It's gonna be beautiful in the morning with a blanket of white covering everything," he said softly.

A few minutes later, the delicious aroma of the baking bread wafted through the house. Jo was sitting in the recliner reading a historical romance when the telephone rang.

"Hey, Mom, can I spend tonight here too?" Jamie asked her mother. "Taylor's Mom offered to take us roller skating tonight."

"You'll miss church," Jo pointed out.

"Taylor's Mom says I can go to church with them."

"But they're not even Catholic..." Jo sighed. "All right, but just this once."

"Looks like it's just the three of us tonight," she told Doug after hanging the telephone up.

"Mm. Well, nothing wrong with that, I s'pose." He hugged her from behind and kissed her neck.

After dinner was over and they'd cleaned up, he ran a bath for her, adding her favorite bath oil to the water.

"Aw, you didn't have to do that!" she said. He grinned and helped her out of her clothes and into the tub, where he washed her back. She blew soap bubbles at him and got him wet as well, and after helping her out of the tub, he took a bath himself. Afterwards they sat together by the fireplace, eating banana bread and drinking hot apple cider.

Suddenly they heard a howling wind outside and the thud of large clumps of snow hitting the windows. Doug sighed. "Sounds like a snowstorm."

"I wish Jamie were here." Jo frowned with concern.

"Aw, she'll be all right! Taylor's Mom will take good care of her."

Jo lay down on the sofa and put her head in her husband's lap. "I have another backache," she told him. "I've had one off and on all day, and now it's bothering me again."

"Aw.." Doug began to rub her back in slow, circular motions, and she moaned in contentment as she snuggled closer to him. She was almost asleep when a sharp pain ripped across her abdomen. It was so intense that it took her breath away.

Doug was instantly alarmed. "What is it?"

"I think it's time to go to the hospital," Jo told him.

"Are you sure?" It was six days past Jo's due date, and she'd already had false labor twice.

"I've been through this before, you know, thirteen years ago," Jo panted. "Trust me, this time it's the real thing."

Doug went to Clay's room and knocked on the door. "I'm taking Jo to the hospital," he told his son. "She says it's the real thing this time."

"It _is _the real thing this time!" Jo snapped. Another contraction had just hit her, doubling her over in pain. "Now hurry up, unless you want me to pop this kid right here in the hallway!"

They put on their warmest coats and dashed out to the car. The rapidly falling snow made driving difficult, so Doug had to go more slowly than he normally did. He was still several blocks away from the hospital when he turned onto an unpaved road and the car came to an abrupt stop. "I'm stuck in snow," he groaned.

"Oh, no!" Jo cried as another contraction began to wash over her. "This baby's not gonna wait much longer!"

"Don't you worry," said Doug. "I'll have us out of here in no time." He put the hazard lights on and went to frantically scoop snow away from the car's tires. Jo went out to help him.

"Get back in that car!" he ordered her. "I'll not have you putting yourself and the baby in danger!"

"But there's so _much _of it!"

"You get back in that car right now!" Doug bellowed. Wincing, Jo did as he told her to. She huddled in the car groaning in pain with every successive contraction for what seemed like forever.

Another motorist stopped to help Doug, and the two of them eventually had the car moving again. Jo, who was by now experiencing very intense contractions that were very close together, huffed and puffed desperately, unable to control her anguish.

"We'll be there real soon," Doug assured her.

"I'm not sure this baby's gonna wait that long," Jo groaned.

Once they arrived at the hospital, things seemed to happen very quickly. A stretcher was brought for Jo, who by now could no longer stand, and as soon as they were inside, she was examined. "The head is just about to crown," the nurse told her. "But don't push yet. Wait until the doctor gets here."

"But I _have _to push!" Jo gasped.

"I know it hurts, hon." Doug was right beside her, holding her hand. "But you have to do as the nurse says."

Through the hallway they rushed to the elevator, then up to the obstetrics floor, then to the delivery room, with Jo still panting and puffing the entire time. Unable to resist anymore, she groaned and bore down as hard as she could as soon as she saw that the physician on call was there.

"The head is already born," Doug announced shakily. He sounded as if he were about to pass out. As another contraction hit her, Jo bore down with all her might once again, and suddenly their daughter was there in Doug's hands.


	26. The Wisdom Of An Angel

Suddenly the nurse was there, taking the baby from Doug and placing her on a scale. "Eight pounds, six ounces!" she announced.

Dr. Hanson was there as well, sewing Jo up. "You have quite a large tear," she told her.

Doug brushed damp hair back from his wife' forehead. "It's all over with now, sweetie," he murmured as he kissed her cheek. "You did real good. I'm proud of you."

The nurse handed baby Bethany back to him, and he placed her in her mother's arms. "Well, hello there, little one," she cooed as she cuddled her new daughter close. Bethany opened her unfocused dark blue eyes to gaze up at her. "Oh, Doug, she looks just like Jamie did when she was born!"

"I remember Clay had those same long eyelashes," Doug remarked.

Bethany gently nudged the front of Jo's hospital gown with her lips, and Jo lifted it so that she could nurse. Doug chuckled. "Wow, look at her go!"

"She's a lot bigger than Jamie was," said Jo. "Jamie was only a little over seven pounds."

"Clay was closer to nine pounds," Doug replied.

It was still the wee hours of the morning, and euphoria over her daughter's birth soon gave way to fatigue for Jo. She yawned, and Doug took the sleeping infant from her. "Get some rest now, darlin'. You deserve it."

"What about you? You were up all night, too."

Doug grinned. "Aw, don't worry about me! I'll be fine." Several hours later, he gently shook his wife awake. "Your breakfast is here, hon. You need to eat somethin' to get your strength back."

Having not eaten since dinnertime the previous night, Jo was suddenly famished. She gobbled down the grits, eggs, bacon, and toast with relish. Doug laughed indulgently at her eagerness. While she was eating, he called the house to tell Clay the news but got no answer. He left a message for his son to call the hospital. "Probably just sleepin' in," he told Jo.

When she'd finished eating, Jo called Taylor's house to talk to Jamie. "Cathy? Hey, this is Jo," she said when Taylor's mother answered. "I'm here at the hospital. I had the baby early this morning."

"Wow, you did? Really? Is everybody OK?"

"We're all fine. I had a little girl. We named her Bethany Rose Norman."

"That's great! Congratulations! I'll get Jamie for you."

"Mom?" Jamie said a few minutes later.

"Jamie? I called to tell you your sister's here. She was born early this morning."

"Yesss!" Jamie cried. "I can't wait to meet her!"

"Perhaps Taylor's Mom could bring you by later," Jo suggested. "You're gonna love her, Jamie. She's absolutely beautiful. She has the darkest brown hair and deep blue eyes, just like you did, and the cutest dimples, just like Doug's!"

After lunch Clay, accompanied by Grace and Earl, came to the hospital to meet his new sister. The teenager's eyes were big as he gathered the tiny bundle into his arms. "Wow, Dad, I've never seen a baby this tiny before!"

"She's almost as big as you were when you were born," Doug said proudly.

"I'm just so glad to see that things have worked out so well for the two of you," said Grace. "To be honest, after that fiasco with Maggie, I was really wary to see Doug get involved again, but everything's fine now, and here's the little miracle to prove it."

"I really didn't think it would happen at my age," Jo told her. "That's why I wasn't as careful as I should have been."

"So now do you regret not being careful?" A small smile played about Doug's lips.

"Not at all! Do you?"

"A thousand times no! This little girl here's the best thing that ever happened to me, besides havin' Clay and meetin' you, of course." He smiled and gently squeezed his wife's hand.

"Bethany was no accident," said Earl. "She was meant to be. She's brought happiness to two lonely families, healed a lot of hurt and eased a lot of pain. She's even more proof that there's a reason for everything that happens!"

The others all had to agree.


	27. Baby Blues

Later, Cathy brought Jamie and Taylor to the hospital to meet Bethany. "Wow, Mom, she's really tiny!" Jamie exclaimed. "I've never seen a baby that small! Was I that little when I was born?"

Jo smiled. "You were even smaller!"

"She's so cute!" said Taylor as she held the newborn. "She kind of makes me wish I had a baby sister too!"

"I'm sure you'll have plenty of opportunities to babysit," Cathy told her daughter.

All Jo's family and friends in New York were thrilled to learn of Bethany's arrival. Mother and baby slept for most of that day. Doug never left his wife's side, except for a brief trip home for dinner and a shower, and he was back at the hospital first thing the following morning.

That evening, Rose flew in from New York to meet her new granddaughter. "Well, it looks like everything turned out all right, after all," she remarked.

"Thank God for that," said Doug. "I was sure worried."

"Do you feel all right, sweetie?" Rose asked her daughter.

"I'm fine!" Jo assured her.

"Are you eating all right?"

Jo rolled her eyes. "Yes, Mom."

"And how's the little one feeding? Is that going all right?"

"She's just like a little vacuum." Doug laughed.

Doug, Jo and Bethany went home the following morning. Rose, who was planning to stay a couple of weeks to help out, accompanied them. As soon as they were inside, Bethany began to whimper, and Jo sat down on the sofa to nurse her. She was asleep within minutes, and Jo laid her in her crib and then lay down to rest herself.

The house was quiet until Clay and Jamie came home from school. "Grandma!" Jamie went to hug Rose.

"I came to help out for a couple of weeks," Rose told her.

"Cool!"

Doug had to go back to work the following day, but he was home for the remainder of that day, so he made dinner for everyone. Jo breastfed Bethany while she ate.

The baby fell asleep soon afterwards but awakened again at about nine thirty. Jo nursed her for about thirty minutes, then tried and failed to settle her back down. The process continued until four thirty in the morning, when Bethany finally slept long enough for her mother to get some sleep as well.

It was almost ten o'clock the following morning when Jo finally awakened. "Oh, my God! I have to get the kids off to school and Doug off to work..."

"It's already been done," said Rose.

"Oh, thank you!" Jo exclaimed. "I don't know what I'd do without you, Mom."

"That's what Moms are for," Rose replied.

With Rose taking care of the housework and Bethany still sound asleep, Jo quickly found herself bored. She checked her email and posted pictures of Bethany on Facebook, then watched TV until it was time to feed her new daughter again.

After that, she dozed off and on until the rest of the family came home. "Doin' OK, darlin'?" Doug asked as he hugged and kissed her hello.

"I guess so," she sighed. "My tits are sure sore. It seems like that's all she wants to do."

Doug laughed. "You'll get used to it."

Jo's breasts weren't the only part of her body that hurt. The site where she'd been stitched up became increasingly sore and tender until it was almost impossible for her to sit down, and she also began to run a slight fever and had to call Dr. Hanson for antibiotics.

* * *

><p>Jo began to feel lonely after Rose flew back to New York. Accustomed to being around people all day, she found it difficult to be alone in the house with a baby all day. As soon as she was physically able, she began to go for short trips to the park or to a nearby store, but it still wasn't quite the same.<p>

"You look so down," Doug commented one Sunday evening.

"It's just that everything's so normal on the weekend," Jo said. "Everyone's here and it's fine, but then Monday morning comes and everyone's off to work or school and it's just me and Bethany here all day. Not that I don't love her, because I _do. _It's just that..."

"Well, you'll be back at work soon yourself, won't you?"

"But that will mean putting Bethany in day care all day, and I don't like the thought of doing that either. After Jamie was born, I didn't go back to work until she was six months old."

"So take some extra time off, if you want. There's no hurry."

"But I really need something to keep my brain occupied." Jo sighed. "You know what I think would be really nice? I keep seeing these ads on TV about working at home, doing medical coding and stuff like that. I think it would be so great if I could just do something like that!"

"Check into it," said Doug. "To be honest, I'd a whole lot rather have you takin' care of Bethany than strangers anyway."

Feeling as if a weight had just been lifted off her shoulders, Jo quickly found the information for the at-home training online and sent off for it. She couldn't wait to get started.


	28. Bethany's Christening

"Here it is." Jo lifted the delicate white gown from its storage place. "Jamie and I were both christened in this gown, and so was my Mom. My grandmother brought it over from Poland."

"I was goin' to offer the gown Clay was christened in," said Doug. "It had been in Mary Frances' family for several generations, but I can see how it would be more appropriate to use yours."

Doug drove his family to the church, where they met with Father Hanadarko and waited for Bethany's godparents, Grace and her brother Leo, to arrive. They both showed up only moments later, and the ceremony began.

Father Hanadarko read some passages from the Bible, and then Jo, Doug, Grace, and Leo all made the sign of the cross on Bethany's forehead. "I believe in one God, the Father almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all things visible and invisible. I believe in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God, born of the Father before all ages, God from God, light from light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, consubstantial with the Father. Through Him all things were made. For us men and for our salvation He came down from heaven, and by the Holy Spirit was incarnate of the Virgin Mary, and became man. For our sake He was crucified under Pontius Pilate, He suffered death and was buried, and rose again on the third day in accordance with the scriptures. He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead and his kingdom will have no end. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father, and the Son, who with the Father and Son is adored and glorified, who has spoken through the prophets. I believe in one, holy, catholic and apostolic church. I confess one baptism for the forgiveness of sins and I look forward the the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come. Amen," Father Hanadarko, Jo, Doug, Grace, and Leo all recited in unison.

"Bethany Rose Norman, I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit," Father Hanadarko continued as he poured holy water over Bethany's head. The infant immediately began to cry, and Jo held and comforted her. Next the priest anointed Bethany with a mixture of olive oil and balm, dressed her in the christening robe, and lit the candle, and the ceremony was complete.

"Lovely, wasn't it?" Jo said to her husband on the way home.

"It was nice." Doug looked as if his mind were miles away.

"Is something wrong?" asked Jo.

"No," Doug said quietly. "I was just thinking about when Clay was christened. I still have the video of it, if you'd like to see it."

"Aw, Dad!" Clay moaned from the back seat.

"I wanna see it!" cried Jamie.

Thirty minutes later, Doug, Jo, and Jamie sat together on the sofa watching the video of Clay's christening. An embarrassed Clay was hibernating in his bedroom.

"She was really beautiful," Jo commented at the sight of Mary Frances holding her infant son.

"She was," Doug said softly. "Leo was the one who found her body, you know," he added.

"You're kidding!" Jo was shocked.

Doug shook his head. "He told me that she looked so peaceful, like she was just sleeping. That was the main thing I'd been afraid of, that she'd suffered. I couldn't bear the thought that she might have had an agonizing death. Leo said that from the expression on her face, it was obvious that she never even knew what hit her. That gave me great comfort."

"How did you feel when Timothy McVeigh was executed?" asked Jo.

"Although I'm personally opposed to the death penalty, it did give me a sense of closure that I'm not sure I could have gotten any other way," Doug admitted. "Do you think I'm a bad person for feelin' that way, Jo?"

"No, I think it's only human to feel that way," Jo replied. "I wonder whether they'll ever find Osama bin Laden."

"For your sake, I hope he will be," said Doug. "You know what? This is the first time I've ever been able to watch this video without crying."


	29. First Christmas Together

"Why so glum?" Doug asked Jo. It was Christmas Eve, and Jo had just gotten off the telephone with her mother.

"I just can't get Christmas in New York City off my mind!" she exclaimed. "All the lights in Times Square, the Rockefeller Christmas tree...I just miss it all so much!" Doug saw that there were tears in her eyes.

"Aw, hon!" He went to his wife and embraced her. She rested her head on his shoulder as he rubbed her back. "Say, there's somethin' I was meanin' to give you tomorrow morning, but I might as well give it to you now." He went to the dresser and brought back a small box, which he handed to Jo. "Merry Christmas, darlin'."

Jo opened the box to find a tiny gold angel ornament. "It's lovely!" she exclaimed.

"Read the inscription," Doug told her.

The letters across the bottom were very small. 'From Doug with love to Jo, Christmas 2010," they said.

"Aw, thank you!" Jo said as she hugged his neck, then went to the closet and retrieved a wrapped present. "Here's yours," she said.

Doug unwrapped the present to find his favorite cologne and aftershave. "Aw, thanks, hon!" he said, kissing her lips.

Just then Bethany started crying, and Jo nursed her. She got the baby settled and then joined Doug in bed. She wasn't supposed to make love until six weeks after giving birth, so they cuddled all night with Doug's arms around Jo and her head resting on his shoulder.

The following morning Jo made pancakes for everyone for breakfast, and then the family members opened their presents from each other. Jo had had no idea what to get Clay, so she gave him a twenty dollar gift certificate from the CD store in the mall. Doug gave Jamie a beautiful pair of earrings with a matching necklace.

"Wow, thanks...can I call you 'Dad'?" she asked Doug.

"I'd be honored, sweetheart," he said gruffly, embracing her. Clay glared disapprovingly.

"Is there a problem, Clay?" Doug asked sharply.

"No," Clay said quickly, shaking his head vigorously.

For dinner, they went to the home of Doug's former mother-in-law, Betty Hanadarko. All four of Betty's surviving children were there with their families, so it was quite a crowd. Jo had met most of them at Bethany's christening. They all wanted to hold the baby, of course, and Jo let them, even though she was afraid of germs.

Over dinner, the conversation turned to Christmases past. Jo regaled her new family with tales of her adventures at the Eastland School For Girls as a teenager. She also met Betty's father, whom everyone called Geepaw. He was a full-blooded Choctaw Indian.

"I've never met a full-blooded Indian before," Jo told Doug.

"My grandmother was full-blooded Seminole," he said.

"Really?" asked Jo. "That must be why you have such high cheekbones and your hair and eyes are so dark."

"My Mom always told me I favored my grandmother very strongly," he replied. "Much more so than my younger brother did."

"You never talk about him very much," said Jo.

"We're not that close," Doug told her. "He moved to Los Angeles to work as a paramedic more than thirty years ago."

"What's his name?"

"Randy."

"Well, is he married? Does he have any kids?"

"No and no." Doug grinned.

"So Clay and Bethany are your parents' only grandchildren."

"That's right."

"You never told me what happened to them."

"They were killed in a car crash almost twenty years ago."

"That's terrible! I'm so sorry!" Jo shook her head. "Gosh, to lose them like that, and then to lose Mary Frances the way you did..."

"It was a terrible shock," Doug agreed. "But I just look at it this way. At least they didn't suffer for a long time beforehand like they would have if it had been cancer or somethin' like that."

"Yeah," said Jo. "My Dad died of a heart attack when I was thirty-six."

"That must have come as quite a shock to you, too."

"Yeah, it did. Jamie and I made it to the hospital about five minutes after he died."

"Oh, hon, I'm so sorry." Doug embraced his wife. After dinner, he told her that he and Clay were going to the cemetery to put flowers on the graves of Mary Frances and his parents. "You don't have to come along if you don't want to," he told her. "I can understand if you feel awkward about it."

"Oh, no! I don't mind at all," Jo replied. "I'm sure she was a wonderful woman. I wish I could have known her."

"I wish you could have too," Doug said softly.

As they were standing at the grave site, Jo stared down at the simple white marker. 'Mary Frances Hanadarko Norman, March 9, 1958-April 19, 1995, beloved daughter, sister, wife, and mother' it said. As they stood together quietly, Jo noticed a man approaching them. As he drew closer, she saw that he was Earl. He joined them silently, putting an arm around Clay as he did so.


	30. Blair's Arrival

"Blair! What a nice surprise!" Jo exclaimed when she heard her best friend's voice over the telephone. "How the heck have you been, girl?"

"That's what I wanted to talk to you about," Blair replied. "Tad and I are divorcing. I caught him cheating on me."

"Oh, no!" Jo gasped. "I'm so sorry!"

"That's all right," Blair replied. "But that's only part of my news. Guess what! I'm moving to Oklahoma City!"

"Wow, really? That's great!" Jo exclaimed. "But what about Warner Enterprises?"

"I'm getting half of it," said Blair. "I'm going to be managing one of the motels there in Oklahoma City."

"And what about Adam and Alyssa?"

"I'm bringing them with me." Jo was fond of Blair's eight-year-old son and six-year-old daughter and looked forward to seeing them again. "So, how are you doing? How are Jamie and the baby?"

"Jamie's fine! I can't believe she's in eighth grade already. And Bethany's so sweet! We just had her christened a few weeks ago."

"Uh...that's nice, I guess." Jo knew that Blair was an atheist but didn't hide her own faith from her best friend. She wondered what Blair would think if she knew about Earl.

"My best friend called me from New York today," Jo told Doug as they were cuddling together in bed that night. "She says she's divorcing her husband and moving here."

"You mean Blair? That's great, hon! I know how lonely you get here sometimes. It'll be good to have a close friend nearby again."

"Yeah," Jo said softly. She was wondering what it would be like to see Blair on a regular basis again. Would they be able to pick their friendship back up again where it had left off when Jo had moved to New York City, or had they both changed too much for that to happen?

Several days later, she and Jamie stood in the airport waiting for Blair and her children to arrive. It was a bitterly cold day in January, so Doug had stayed home with the baby.

At last they were there, and Blair rushed into Jo's arms. They squealed with happiness as they embraced, then walked together out to Jo's car. Jo planned to take them all to meet Doug, Clay, and Bethany before taking them to the motel.

They arrived to find Doug sitting on the sofa reading beside a crackling fireplace. "How's Bethany?" she asked him.

"She's fine!" he told her. "I just gave her a bath and got her settled down to sleep. How ya doin', Blair?" he asked as he shook Blair's hand.

"This is Adam and Alyssa," Blair told him.

"Come on in, kids! Too cold to be standin' around out there!" said Doug.

Adam and Alyssa stepped inside and looked around shyly. "Clay's hibernatin' in back somewhere," Doug told them.

"Can I please see the baby?" asked Alyssa.

"She's asleep right now, hon," Doug told her. "You can see her when she wakes up."

As if on cue, Bethany awakened and began to cry. Jo went into the nursery and picked her up, then sat in the rocker to nurse her. In the meantime, Blair and her children got settled in the living room. Doug turned the television on for them. "Do you guys like to watch Nickelodeon? Clay loved it when he was little."

"Yes, sir," Adam said politely.

"So, have you ever been to New York?" Blair asked Doug.

"Never," he told her.

_"Never?" _she exclaimed. "You don't know what you're missing!"

"I've just never had that much of a desire to be that far away from home," Doug told her.

"So you've stayed right here in Oklahoma City your entire life?"

"That's right!"

Jo finished nursing Bethany and brought her into the living room. "She's so tiny!" Alyssa exclaimed. "How old is she?"

"Not quite two months," Jo told her.

"Can I hold her?"

Jo showed the little girl how to support the baby's head. "Wow, you sure are lucky," Alyssa said to Jamie. "I wish I had a baby sister."

"That will sure never happen," Blair commented.

"So, where do you folks go to church?" Doug asked Blair.

"I don't go to church," Blair told him. "You see, I don't believe in God."


	31. Helping Blair Get Settled

Everything was dead silent for the space of about one minute. Doug and Jo exchanged glances. Doug cleared his throat rather loudly.

"So, how are things back in New York?" asked Jo.

"Everyone's fine. About the same. Butt freezing cold, of course."

Conversation limped along until dinner, which was cheddar cheese bacon soup which Jo had made in the crock pot and Doug proclaimed to be delicious. After dinner, Jo drove Blair and her children to the motel. "He's pretty religious, isn't he?" Blair asked Jo as soon as the four of them were alone.

"His whole family is," Jo replied.

"I could tell he was really floored when I told him I didn't believe in God."

"I guess I should have warned him beforehand," said Jo. "It's just such a non issue for me that I didn't even think about it."

"You should have warned _me _beforehand," Blair corrected her. "How did you end up with that guy, Jo? He isn't your type at all."

"Maybe my 'type' isn't what it used to be," Jo said stiffly, feeling as if she were sixteen again.

"How old is he, anyway? He looks like he's old enough to be your father."

"No he doesn't! He's only fifty-nine!"

"He seems so...country." Blair wrinkled her nose. "I always thought you were more the motorcycle gang type."

"There aren't very many of those here in Oklahoma City," Jo said shortly. "Look, let's not start out on the wrong foot, OK?"

Blair sighed. "I think it's a little too late for that. I saw the expression on his face when I told him I didn't believe in God."

* * *

><p>By the time Jo got back to the house, Clay had emerged from hibernation. "Sorry I missed everyone," he told his stepmother. Jo knew that the apology had come at Doug's prompting, but she appreciated it, anyway.<p>

Bethany was crying, and Jo went into the nursery and fed her and got her settled for the night. Then she went back to the living room, where she watched a couple of hours of television with Doug before turning in.

"You didn't tell me she was one of those atheists," Doug said to his wife as they were getting ready for bed.

"She stopped believing in God when her parents got divorced when she was little," Jo told her husband. "She isn't a bad person, Doug. She just couldn't believe in a God who would let that happen."

"My faith never wavered after I lost Mary Frances," Doug retorted. "It was about the only thing that kept me going, besides my friends and family and Clay, of course. How could anyone look into Bethany's little face and not believe in God?"

"Blair was brought up different from the way we were," Jo replied. "Her family isn't nearly as traditional as yours and mine."

"That doesn't matter," said Doug. "How could there be any other explanation for the wonders of nature, the complexity of the human brain, things like that?"

"I know," said Jo. "It's just a subject we don't really discuss. We've always just agreed to disagree."

Doug finished undressing and climbed into bed beside Jo. She turned to snuggle into his arms, and he held her tight. Both of them were soon asleep.

* * *

><p>Jo helped Blair at the motel for a few days, getting things set up. She took Bethany along so that she could nurse her when necessary.<p>

"I never did that," Blair commented. "I never had time to."

"I didn't think I would, either," Jo replied. "Luckily I was able to work at home so that I could."

"I couldn't stay home all day," Blair said. "I'd go crazy!"

Jo was reminded of the rocky road to friendship she and Blair had traveled as teens. It had always amazed her that two people who'd seemingly had such little in common had become such good friends.

On Saturday, Jo and Jamie took Blair, Adam, and Alyssa to the mall. In the earring store Jamie bought lip gloss and blue nail polish. Alyssa begged her mother for some as well, and Blair told her she was too young for lip gloss and that she wasn't going to have her daughter with blue fingernails.

They were coming out of that store when they met up with Grace and her best friend, Rhetta Rodriguez. "This is my friend Blair from New York and her children, Adam and Alyssa," Jo told the two women. "Blair, this is Doug' sister-in-law Grace and her friend Rhetta."

"How do you do." Blair shook both women's hands.

"Good to meet you," Grace replied. "So for how long are you visiting?"

"I'm staying," Blair told her. "I'm going through a divorce and moved here to make a fresh start with my best friend from high school."

"You'll find it's quite a change from New York," Grace told her.

Blair laughed. "I'm already finding that."


	32. A Trip To The Park

"See you in church tomorrow," Grace said to Jo and Blair after the four of them had chatted together for a few minutes.

"Okay. See ya," Jo replied. Blair just stared.

"Did she mean me too?" Blair asked after Grace and Rhetta had left.

"I don't know," said Jo. "Why don't you come anyway? I don't think you'll be disappointed. You can even meet Earl."

"Who's Earl?" Blair frowned. "Don't tell me you're already trying to set me up!"

"Oh, no!" Jo had to laugh at the idea of Earl and Blair on a date together. "He's...a very special friend of Grace's. I think you'd like him."

"She reminds me a lot of you," Blair remarked.

"I suppose you're right," said Jo. "I've never really thought about that. She _is _kind of rough around the edges, but she has a good heart."

"Like you," Blair added.

"So are you coming tomorrow?" asked Jo.

Blair shrugged. "Might as well."

Jo returned home to find Doug sitting in the recliner with his feet propped up watching television. "Find any good deals?"

"Jamie found some make-up and stuff." Jo took Bethany out of her carrier and removed her winter clothing. The baby awakened and began to cry, and Jo sat on the sofa and nursed her. "We ran into Grace and Rhetta."

"Oh yeah?"

"Grace mentioned church tomorrow, and Blair said she might come."

"She should," Doug replied. "It would do her good."

"I told her she might meet Earl. She thought I was trying to set her up." They both laughed heartily.

* * *

><p>Blair and her children did attend church the following day, and were introduced to the rest of Grace's family and to Earl. She was polite but didn't seem impressed. Doug was silent on the ride home.<p>

"What's wrong?" asked Jo.

"I hate to sound negative, but I don't think your friend is gonna fit in around here," he replied.

"Yeah, I think you're right," she agreed dolefully.

"She's one of those hoity-toity uppity types, ain't she? I can tell she is."

"Well, yeah, but she really _is _a good person at heart, if you give her a chance."

Doug only snorted in response.

Jo was depressed for the rest of the evening, torn between her love for her husband and her new life and her loyalty to her best friend.

She didn't hear from Blair for several days after that. Late Friday evening, Blair finally called her. Jo was excited and happy to hear from her friend until she found out what she had to say.

"Want to take the kids to the park tomorrow?" Blair asked. "The weather's supposed to be nice, and I thought it would be a nice chance to say good-bye."

"What do you mean, good-bye?" asked Jo.

"That's just what I mean. There's really nothing here for me, Jo. Everybody I've met so far is just so...backwards and hickish. Well, most of them, anyway. New York is my home. It's where I belong."

"But you've only been here for a couple of weeks!"

"That's long enough," Blair said quietly. "If anything, _too _long."

"I wish you'd give it more of a chance," Jo said helplessly.

"I'm sorry," Blair replied. "My mind's made up."

Jo hung the telephone up and wandered desolately into the living room, where she plopped down onto the sofa and sat staring glumly at the floor.

"Why the long face?" asked Doug.

"It's Blair. She's moving away."

"Already? But she just moved here!"

"She says there's nothing for her here and New York is where she belongs."

Doug sighed and went to his wife and put his arms around her. "She's right, hon," he said gently. "I know you care about her and enjoy being around her, but if she isn't happy here, it's best that she go back."

* * *

><p>The sun was indeed shining the following morning as Jo set out to meet Blair at the park. She spotted her friend's rented car and parked beside it, took the stroller out of the trunk, and put Bethany into it.<p>

She saw Blair sitting on a park bench and went to sit beside her. They chatted as they watched Adam and Alyssa at play. Suddenly Adam approached them, his hands cupped together. "Look what I found, Mommy!"

It was a caterpillar.

"Neat!" said Jo.

"Disgusting!" Blair made a face. "Where's your sister?"

She looked all around, but Alyssa was nowhere to be found.


	33. Doubting Blair

After much frantic searching, Blair was just about to call the police when Jo spotted Earl and Alyssa walking toward them hand in hand. "There she is!" she exclaimed.

"Oh, thank God!" Blair cried, running to the little girl and embracing her, then turning to Earl. "I met you in church last weekend, didn't I?"

"Yes, ma'am," he replied. "I'm Earl."

"Thank you so much for finding my little girl! I was so worried!"

"It's no problem at all!" Earl replied.

"Earl's nice," Alyssa told her mother. "He told me a story so I wouldn't be afraid."

"Well, I think we've had quite enough of the park for one day," an obviously shaken Blair told her children. "Thank you again for finding Alyssa," she added to Earl, who nodded acknowledgement.

"So is this good-bye, then?" asked Jo, dismayed. "I'd hoped we could spend the whole afternoon together."

"Oh yeah, that's right." Blair looked uncertain. "Meet me back at the motel," she finally said. "We need to talk."

Jo took Bethany back to the motel and met Blair in the lobby. Blair turned the television on for Adam and Alyssa."There's something different about that guy," she said to Jo. "I can't quite put my finger on it, but there's definitely something different about him."

"If I told you who he really is, you wouldn't believe me," Jo replied.

"Try me."

"If you don't believe in God, then you must not believe in angels, either," said Jo.

"Are you telling me Earl's an angel?" Blair sounded incredulous.

"I couldn't believe it either, at first,' said Jo. "Not until he showed me his wings."

"His..._wings?" _Blair burst out laughing.

"I swear to you, it's true!" Jo raised her voice in annoyance.

"I'm sorry for laughing, but that _is _a bit hard to swallow," said Blair.

"I'll get him to show you next time we meet up with him," Jo replied, then remembered. "Oh, yeah."

"Oh, I'm not gonna leave right away," said Blair. "I was going to, but not anymore. This is something I've _got _to see."

* * *

><p>Jo returned home to find Doug practicing guitar. He looked up when she entered. "So did you see your friend off?"<p>

"It turned out she decided to stay a bit longer, after all," Jo replied. "Alyssa got lost in the park, and Earl found her. Later on, Blair and I were talking and I told her about Earl being an angel. I said I'd seen his wings, and now she wants to see them, too."

"Well, that's good. At last she's being open-minded about it."

"I told you she's not so bad," said Jo.

"Perhaps I _did _judge her a bit hastily," Doug admitted.

* * *

><p>Blair went to church again the following Sunday. She was far more warm and cordial to everyone, especially Earl. "Jo told me about you," she said to him.<p>

"Nothin' worth tellin'," he replied. "I'm just an ordinary guy."

"That's not what Jo said."

"Well, believe it or not, it's the truth," said Earl. Blair looked disappointed but didn't say anything as she walked out to the car with Jo and Doug.

"So what's this about Earl having wings?" she asked Jo. "He told me he was just an ordinary guy!"

Jo frowned. "I don't understand. He showed me his wings right away."

"I'm going back in there to talk to him," Doug announced, striding back toward the church. He returned several minutes later with Earl in tow.

"Are you a believer?" he asked Blair.

She frowned. "Um...I'm not sure."

"Cause if you're not, nothin' I could show you would change your mind."

"Well, then...I guess I am."

Earl led the group into the lobby of the now-empty church, where he removed his shirt and opened his wings for Blair.

"Wow!" she exclaimed, glancing at her friend. "You were right after all, Jo!" She turned to Earl. "So why bother with taking cars and buses and trains when you can just fly wherever you want to go?"

"It would attract unwanted attention," Earl told her. "I"m not here to attract attention to myself. I'm here to do the Lord's work."

Blair nodded. "That makes sense."


	34. Jo's Song

Blair decided to continue living in Oklahoma, after all, and soon began dating Grace's brother, Joe Hanadarko. "I never dreamed I could be attracted to someone like him," she told Jo. "He's so totally different from the kind of guy I usually go for."

"It pays to have an open mind," Jo told her friend.

The day before Valentine's Day, Jo found herself wandering around the mall, searching for just the right gift for Doug. _A year ago, we barely even knew each other, _she reflected. Glancing down at Bethany's sleeping face in her stroller, it occurred to her once again how quickly things could change in a relatively short time.

Strolling into the music store, she remembered how Doug had told her that he was part Seminole. She found a CD of Native American flute music that she thought he might like and bought it. It wasn't exactly romantic, she thought, but it was rather unique. She decided she'd look for a really romantic card to go with it.

The following morning, she awakened at the usual time to feed Bethany and get Doug off to work and Clay and Jamie off to school. Right before Doug left, she handed him the card and the CD, which she'd wrapped in red wrapping paper. "Happy Valentine's Day!" she said.

Doug smiled and opened the card first. "Aw, ain't that sweet!" he exclaimed. Next he opened the CD. "Wow, nobody's ever got me anything like this before!" he exclaimed.

"Do you like it?" Jo asked anxiously.

"I like it!" he replied. "Thanks!" He gave her a quick hug and kiss. "I got you somethin', too," he added. "I'll give it to you this evening, after dinner."

_Why not now? _Jo wondered, but she didn't say anything. All morning long she wondered what it was that Doug hadn't been able to give her that morning, but by the time he'd returned home that evening, she'd all but forgotten about it.

After dinner, Doug picked up his guitar. "Ready for your Valentine's Day present?" he asked Jo. She nodded. "Here it is," he said. He began to strum his guitar and sing.

_There's a woman who means the world to me  
>Her smile sets my heart aglow<br>I know our love was meant to be  
>I want the whole wide world to know<em>

_I love you, Jo  
>I love you, Jo<br>I love you, Jo_

The song had several more verses. When it was finished, Doug put his guitar down and smiled at Jo. "Do you like it?"

"I love it!" Jo hugged him and kissed his cheek. "It's beautiful! Thank you!"

"You're very welcome." Doug beamed.

"Wow, that was so original!" Jo exclaimed. "Way more so than what I got you."

"What you got me was fine, darlin'," Doug replied. Even so, Jo wished that she could do something creative for him as well. She lay in bed that night thinking about it until an idea came to her.

The following day, she drove to the hobby shop and bought painting supplies. She returned home with them, found her favorite photograph of her husband and herself together, and went to work.

She soon discovered that painting wasn't nearly as easy as it looked on television. A morning and half an afternoon's work resulted in only a badly smudged and slightly lopsided portrayal of herself and Doug. Frustrated, she threw the painting into the trash and went to start dinner.

Doug arrived home at the usual time, kissed his wife, and asked how her day had been. "Oh, busy as usual, you know." Jo tried to sound as casual and nonchalant as she could.

"Is that a fleck of brown paint on your nose?" asked Doug.

Jo shrugged noncommittally.

His suspicion aroused, her husband glanced around the room and noticed that the trash can's lid was slightly awry. "Hey, what's this?" He reached in and pulled out Jo's discarded painting.

"I wanted to do something really special for you, since you wrote a song for me." Jo began to cry. "As you can see, I kind of made a mess of it...I'm s-sorry..."

"Aw, it ain't so bad!" Doug laid the painting down, then went to his wife and held and comforted her. "It was really sweet of you to do that for me, hon. And like I said, it really ain't that bad, not for a first painting."

"You're just trying to be nice," Jo mumbled into the front of his shirt.

"No, I really mean it," Doug insisted. "I'm gonna hang it up in our bedroom."

"You really think it's good enough for that?"

"Heck, yeah! So what if it ain't perfect? It's the thought that counts."

Jo felt a sudden rush of love for her husband. She was happier than ever that she'd met him.


	35. Taylor's Birthday Party

"Taylor's birthday party is Saturday," Jamie told Jo one day. "She's having it at the skating rink. Will you please take me?"

"You haven't been skating in a really long time," Jo reminded her daughter. "Are you sure you'll be all right?"

"I'll be really careful," Jamie promised.

"Well...all right," Jo conceded.

Saturday morning was cold but sunny. Jo bundled Bethany up warmly and took her to the skating rink with Jamie. Cathy and Taylor greeted them when they arrived.

"This is my cousin, Lauren," Taylor told them. Lauren had shoulder-length blonde hair and braces on her teeth. She was about Taylor and Jamie's age. "This is my best friend, Jamie Bonner," Taylor told her cousin.

"Kennedy, come say hello to Jo and Jamie," Cathy called to her younger daughter. Taylor's eight-year-old sister was busily skating around the rink. She skated toward Jo and Jamie.

"Hello," she said obligingly, then turned and skated back onto the rink. Taylor made a face behind her sister's back.

"Taylor," Cathy said sternly.

"So how many people are coming?" Jamie asked Taylor.

"I invited Ashley and Kendra," Taylor replied. "Oh, and _Hunter _said he might come."

"Hunter?" Jamie squealed, and both girls burst into a fit of giggles.

"She's adorable!" Cathy said to Jo, looking down at Bethany. "Can I hold her?"

"Of course!" But as soon as Jo handed Bethany to Cathy, the infant primped up and began to cry.

"Oh, no!" Cathy cooed.

"I guess she's reached the age where she recognizes who's holding her," Jo commented. After a few minutes, Bethany got used to Cathy holding her and stopped crying.

Soon a very nice looking boy of about fourteen strolled in. "Hunter!" cried Jamie and Taylor, racing toward him. Jamie was in such a hurry that she didn't watch where she was going and tripped over the curb, falling right on her arm.

"Jamie!" Jo rushed to help her daughter up.

Jamie's face was pale, and she was grimacing in pain. "Mom, it hurts!"

Cathy and Taylor were there as well, and even Hunter, although Jamie was in so much pain that she seemed not to even notice him.

"I'm taking you to the hospital right away," Jo decided.

"No, Mom! That would be so, like, totally uncool!" Jamie protested. "At least wait until the party's over!"

"Well...all right," Jo relented. Jamie sat on the edge of the rink, her face a mask of pain, while the others enjoyed the party. She looked relieved when things started winding down and the other guests began to leave.

Jo drove her daughter home, praying that Doug would be there. He was.

"I need you to watch the baby for awhile, hon," she told him. "I'm taking Jamie to the emergency room. She hurt her arm at the skating rink."

"Aw, hon, I'm so sorry!" Doug told his stepdaughter.

"Yeah, so am I, Dad," Jamie said glumly.

Doug smiled. He loved it when she called him 'Dad'. "Well, they'll take good care of you at the hospital." He ruffled her hair.

At the hospital, Jo signed Jamie in and they sat in the lobby to wait across from a young woman who was vomiting into a plastic container and a man who was groaning loudly. After awhile the receptionist took down all Jamie's information and a nurse took them back to a private room.

They had to wait so long to be seen that Jamie was lightly dozing by the time the physician arrived to take her to x-ray. Then it was another wait for the results.

"It's broken," the physician told them, but rather than looking upset, Jamie grinned.

"I'm gonna have Hunter be the first one to sign my cast," she told her mother.

"I think the novelty's gonna wear off pretty fast," Jo replied.

The physician put the cast on Jamie's arm and gave her a sling. It was twilight by the time they were on their way home.

"How was she?" Jo asked her husband.

"Good as gold," he told her. "She only cried once. I gave her a bottle at about six and she drank about half of it. She's been asleep since then."

"I changed my mind," Jamie announced. "I don't want Hunter to be the first one to sign my cast anymore. I want you to be first, Dad."

"I'd be honored," Doug told her. He found a pen and wrote on her cast. 'To Jamie, I hope you get better soon. All my love, Dad.'

"Thanks, Dad!" Her pain forgotten, Jamie kissed Doug's cheek.

"No problem at all. Happy to do it." He grinned and blushed just a little.

"You're so good with her," Jo told her husband later, when they were alone.

"I'm so glad you think so," he replied. "To be honest, I was kind of scared at first. I never had a daughter before, and now all of a sudden, I've got two of them!" He chuckled.

"Well, you're doing a great job with both of them." Jo sighed. "I'm afraid I'm not doing nearly as well with Clay."

Doug came to her and took both her hands into his own. "You're doin' fine with Clay," he told her. "He's almost grown. Before I met you, Grace was the closest thing he'd ever had to a mother. It's only natural that he'd be closer to her than he is to you, but that don't mean he don't care about you at all. I asked him one time how he felt about you and me bein' married. He said he was happy I'd found someone to love and that he thought you were good for me."

"Well, I'm glad he approves," Jo replied. "I just wish that he and I could be closer."

"It'll happen," Doug assured her. "Just give it some time."

"You really think so?"

"Yeah, I do." She went to him, and he put his arms around her and held her close while she rested her head on his shoulder.


	36. Watching 'Star Wars'

One afternoon, Jo was busily at work on her computer when the telephone rang. "This is Nurse Heather from Oklahoma High," a female voice said when she answered it. "I have Clay Norman here at the clinic with me. He's running a temperature of 102 degrees. Can you come pick him up?"

"Sure, no problem," Jo replied. Bethany was asleep in her crib. Jo gently lifted her and fastened her into her car seat. She yawned and squirmed but didn't awaken. Jo took the car seat out to the car and fastened it into its base, then got behind the wheel and drove to Clay's high school.

The final class of the day was still in session when she arrived, so the halls were very quiet as she walked to the clinic. She passed a couple of teenage girls along the way. "Cute baby," one of them remarked.

"Thank you," Jo replied.

Arriving at the clinic at last, she found her stepson slouching in a chair with his head resting against the wall. "Come on, Clay," she said to him. "Let's go home." He opened his eyes and looked at her, then silently stood and walked out of the school with her.

"Do you think you need to go to the doctor?" Jo asked him.

He shook his head vigorously. "I think it's just the flu."

"When did you start feeling sick?" asked Jo.

"I was on my way to seventh period when I suddenly got real dizzy, and then I started shivering real bad," Clay replied. "I was gonna try to stick it out till the end of the school day, but I just felt too bad. I'm sorry."

"Oh, that's all right!" said Jo. "Let's get you home and into bed, where you belong."

At home Jo tried to tuck Clay into bed, but he angrily shrugged her away. Her feelings were hurt just a little bit, but she didn't say anything. Several hours later, she took a steaming bowl of chicken noodle soup in to him.

"Thanks!" he said with a grin, and she felt a little bit better.

Doug arrived home from work pale and shaken. "What's wrong?" Jo asked anxiously.

"I might have prostate cancer," he said shakily. "I have to go for a biopsy next week."

"Oh, no!" Jo exclaimed, going to him and giving him a hug.

"Thanks, I needed that," he said gratefully. "You're gonna have to drive me there and back 'cause they're gonna have to sedate me."

"Of course," said Jo. "Clay has the flu. I had to pick him up from school today."

"Oh, no!" Doug gave a wry smile. "It never rains but it pours, don't it?"

"Tell me about it," said Jo. "I sure hope Bethany doesn't catch it."

"How's he doing?"

"He seems to be all right for now," said Jo. "I just gave him some chicken noodle soup about thirty minutes ago, and he ate the whole bowlful."

"Thanks, hon. You're the best."

Later that evening, Clay's friend Benjamin Cooley brought his class assignments to him, and that night, Doug and Jo watched 'Forrest Gump' together. It was one of Doug's favorite movies and helped to take his mind off his upcoming biopsy.

Clay stayed home from school the next day, so Jo had to alternate her time between taking care of Bethany, working at her home business, and caring for Clay. About mid morning, she took some orange juice in to him and found him sitting up in bed, watching 'Star Wars.'

"You know, I was only eleven years old when this movie first came out in the theater," she told him. "At first my Mom didn't want me to see it because it was rated 'PG.' All the other kids got to go see it, but I had to beg and plead for ages before she finally gave in and let me go."

"Most 'PG' rated movies are for babies," said Clay. "All the really cool movies are rated either 'PG-13' or 'R.' Except for this one, of course."

Suddenly interested, Jo sat in the chair by his bed, and together they laughed at the strange creatures in the cantina scene and gasped when a man's arm was cut off. It was near the end of the movie when Bethany's crying jolted Jo back to reality. Not wanting to expose the baby to Clay's virus, she resisted the temptation to return to his bedroom to watch the movie's ending. She nursed Bethany and was about to go back to work when she heard Clay calling to her from his room.

"Hey, Jo, aren't you gonna come back and finish watching the movie?"

Surprised, Jo hurried to his bedroom. "You mean you paused it?"

Clay frowned. "Sure, why wouldn't I?"

Jo smiled and sat back down beside him. "I hadn't seen that movie in over thirty years, so for me it was almost like watching it for the first time," she told Clay when the movie was over.

"It's been awhile for me too," he replied.

"That was kind of neat, wasn't it, to watch a movie together," Jo remarked.

Clay shrugged. "I guess so."

Jo kept busy for the rest of the day and was setting the table when Doug got home from work. "Are you all right?" she asked him.

"Yeah, considering."

"Clay and I watched 'Star Wars' together this morning," she told him.

"Oh, yeah?" He grinned.

"He even paused it for me when I had to feed Bethany," she continued.

"See? I _told _you you had nothin' to worry about." His health concerns temporarily forgotten, Doug hugged and kissed his wife.


	37. An Unexpected Telephone Call

Clay quickly recovered from the flu and was able to return to school within a couple of days. The following week, Jo went with Doug to the clinic for his biopsy. He tried to put up a brave front, but she could tell he was nervous.

"It's gonna be all right." She put one hand over his, which felt cold to the touch.

"I know," he said. "I ain't worried." Jo knew otherwise, but she didn't say anything.

While waiting to be called back, he paced back and forth in the waiting room while Jo sat quietly watching him. She found her mind drifting back to memories of her high school friend Gail Gallagher, who'd originally been one of her teachers. She remembered how devastated she'd been when she'd found out that Gail was dying. The last time she'd seen her friend alive, Gail had been lying in bed pale and emaciated, barely even able to hold her head up. A vision of Doug lying there instead of Gail came to her, and she tried desperately to think about something else.

At last Doug was called back for the procedure. Jo gave him a hug and sat down to wait. While listlessly flipping through a magazine, she glanced up and noticed that Earl was sitting directly across from her, reading a newspaper. He didn't seem to notice her, but she felt tremendously better right away.

After a few minutes of anxious waiting, Doug emerged. His eyes were halfway closed, and he walked gingerly. "Everything went fine," the nurse told Jo. "We'll have the results in a few days."

"How do you feel?" Jo asked her husband.

"Like I just had a red hot poker shoved up my butt," Doug said wryly.

"Come on, let's go home," said Jo. "You'll feel better after you rest for awhile." She drover her husband home, where he went right to bed.

Clay arrived home from school several hours later and went to his room without a word, as was his usual habit. Jamie arrived home shortly after her stepbrother. "Is Dad all right?" she asked anxiously.

"The biopsy went fine," Jo told her. "He's resting."

Doug joined the family for dinner, grimacing as he sat down very gingerly. "That must have really hurt," Jamie said sympathetically.

"Nah, it was just a little pin prick." Doug grinned at her. Jo patted his shoulder.

That evening she received an unexpected telephone call. "Is this Jo?" asked a masculine voice. "You don't know me, but I'm your brother-in-law. I'm Randy Norman."

"Randy? Of course! Doug told me about you."

"Yeah, he's still up there freezin' his butt off every winter when he could be nice and warm all year round down here. So how's he doin'?"

"He's all right. He had a biopsy this morning, so he's been resting all day. Do you want me to put him on?"

"Oh, no, that's all right. A biopsy? What's wrong?"

"It was to rule out prostate cancer. We'll know the results in a few days."

"Prostate cancer? Oh, no!" Randy gasped. "I had no idea. I haven't seen him in forever, you know. The last time must have been the funeral. 'Course things have been rocky between us ever since the incident with Patty. That was the main reason I moved away."

"Who's Patty?" asked Jo.

"The only woman I ever loved." Randy sounded bitter. "We were high school sweethearts. We were gonna get married after we graduated, but then I made the mistake of introducing her to Doug. They hid it well. I never suspected anything at all until just a couple of weeks before we were supposed to be married. She told me she was having second thoughts about getting married and wanted to break off the engagement. Not too long after that, I caught her and Doug together making out."

"Oh my gosh!" Jo exclaimed. "That doesn't sound like Doug at all! I can't believe he'd do something like that!"

"Well, he sure did," Randy said gloomily. "He took the only woman I ever loved away from me. For years afterwards, I was so angry I refused to speak to him at all. At the funeral he tried to patch things up with me. By that time, things had ended between him and Patty and he was with Mary Frances. I still refused to speak to him."

"He called me after the bombing and told me about Mary Frances. I really did feel bad for him. I mean, nobody deserves to have to go through _that. _After that we sort of kept in touch for awhile. He called to tell me when he married you, and I was really happy for him. Over the past few weeks I've been thinking it might be nice to get together with him again soon. I mean, none of us is getting any younger, and before you know it...well, anyway, I had no idea he had health concerns."

"I'll tell him you called," Jo told Randy. "I'm sure he'll be happy to have heard from you."


	38. Easter

Doug was already asleep when Jo joined him in bed that night. She snuggled up close to him and felt his arm tighten around her. She fell into a troubled sleep thinking of the things Randy had told her. If everything he'd said was true, then Doug had hurt his brother very deeply, and she couldn't blame Randy for still being a little angry about it, even after all these years.

Did Doug feel any sorrow or regret over what he'd done to his brother? She wanted to believe that her husband had matured enough over time that he felt terrible about what had happened.

Doug felt back to normal the next morning and was able to return to work, but Jo didn't really get a chance to discuss the issue with him until that evening after dinner.

"Randy called yesterday evening while you were asleep," she mentioned as they were cuddling together on the sofa.

"Oh, yeah?" Doug instantly came to life. "What did he say?"

"He said he'd like to get together with you soon. He also told me about you and Patty."

"Patty who? Oh yeah, _that _Patty." Doug laughed. "Randy dated her for awhile in high school. One day he invited her over for dinner, and later on she threw herself at me. I was a young, red-blooded kid with raging hormones. What else could I do?"

"Anyway, Randy found out about us and got his feelin's hurt. I felt kinda bad for him, but after all, I couldn't help it if she liked me better. It didn't last that long nohow. She met some dandy and dropped me like a hot potato."

"Randy told me they'd been planning to get married."

"I know _he _wanted to marry _her, _but I don't think she felt the same way about him. Look, it was a really long time ago. There's been a lot of water under the bridge since then. If Randy's still sore about somethin' that happened thirty years ago, that's just too bad for him."

The subject wasn't mentioned again for several days. Doug casually brought it up one evening after dinner. "I talked to Randy last night."

"How did that go?" asked Jo.

"Actually not too bad. I was kinda surprised. He seemed really concerned about the biopsy. He asked me a bunch of questions about you, Jamie, and Bethany too."

"That's nice," Jo replied. "I hope he does come to visit soon. I'd love to meet him."

One evening a couple of weeks later, Jo was preparing dinner when Doug picked her up from behind, spun her around, and kissed her cheek. "Guess who's cancer-free?"

"You got the results from the biopsy back?"

"Yep, and everything's completely normal!"

"That's wonderful!" Jo laughed as she hugged him, feeling relief flood over her. "I'm so happy!"

"Yeah, me too." Doug grinned.

"What's wonderful?" Jamie strolled into the room.

"Your Dad's biopsy results came back normal," Jo told her daughter.

"Oh yeah? That's great! I was really worried about that." She sighed. "I already lost one Dad."

Doug gave her a big hug and kissed the top of her head. "Don't you worry 'bout that, sweetie. I ain't goin' nowhere."

* * *

><p>Easter soon arrived. "This is your first Easter, Bethany!" Jo told her daughter excitedly as she dressed her up in a crocheted white dress with a red rose of the front. The baby gurgled in response.<p>

"Just look at you, all dressed up!" Doug, strikingly handsome himself in a grey pinstripe suit with a matching shirt and tie, said to Bethany. He held the baby's foot and kissed it.

"You look delicious," Jo told him.

He chuckled. "Try to control yourself, at least until we get back home, OK?" He winked at her and swatted her bottom, and she giggled.

The five of them arrived to find the church beautifully decorated with white lilies. "Oh, look, there's Blair!" Jo exclaimed joyfully as her friend entered the church a few minutes later, accompanied by Joe, Adam, and Alyssa.

Jo went to embrace Blair right away. "I'm so glad you could make it!" she exclaimed.

"I almost didn't come," the blonde replied. "Joe talked me into it." She giggled. "He's a good influence on me."

Together they celebrated the Easter mass, and Doug, Jo, Clay, and Jamie renewed their baptismal vows as Blair looked on, holding Bethany. After church it was back to Betty Hanadarko's home for the noon meal. Jo knew everyone better now so felt more at ease around them. Joe and Blair were there as well, with the children.

They returned home late in the afternoon, stuffed and drowsy. Jo nursed Bethany and settled her down for a nap and then joined her husband in bed, where both of them were asleep within minutes.


	39. Fear Of Flying

April and May passed quickly, and in early June, Clay was promoted to the twelfth grade and Jamie to the ninth. Both of them came home full of smiles on the last day of school.

"I'm a middle schooler no more, woo hoo!" Jamie shouted.

"Yeah, now you're a lowly freshman," Clay replied. Jamie stuck her tongue out at him, and Jo laughed. She knew that in spite of the ribbing, the two of them did genuinely care for one another.

"I got all A's and only one B on my report card," Jamie told her mother. "I can't wait to show Dad!" More than anything else, she longed for Doug's approval. Jo didn't mind. She knew how badly her daughter had wanted a father for her whole childhood.

"And how well did you do, Clay?" she asked her stepson.

Clay shrugged. "I did all right." He showed Jo his report card.

"Wow, these are some good grades!" Jo exclaimed. "Your father's gonna be so proud of both of you!"

"Yeah." Clay grinned and blushed a little.

When Doug got home several hours later, he was very happy about both report cards and took the family out to the pizza buffet to celebrate. Doug gave Clay and Jamie big handfuls of change to buy tokens to play arcade games with. "They deserve it," he said to Jo. "They're good kids."

"The question is, how are we gonna keep them occupied all summer?" asked Jo. As it turned out, she didn't have to wonder for very long, as Blair called her just a few days later.

"I just heard from Natalie," Blair told her friend. "She and Tootie are flying to Peekskill. Mrs. Garrett had a stroke several days ago."

"Oh, no!" Jo exclaimed. "Is she all right?"

"She's conscious, but she's paralyzed on one side of her body," Blair replied. "I'm flying out to see her too, as soon as I can. I thought that perhaps you and I could go together with our families."

"Oh, of course!" Jo exclaimed. "I'll have to talk to Doug first, of course."

"What's goin' on?" Doug asked after Jo had hung up.

"It's Mrs. Garrett, my former headmaster at Eastland. She just had a stroke," Jo told him. "Blair's flying to Peekskill and wanted to know if I wanted to go with her."

"Oh, no! I'm so sorry!" Doug said. "I know you were real close to her."

"She was like a second mother to me, really to all of us," Jo told him. "I really want to go visit her, and it would mean a lot to me if you'd come, too."

She saw a look of sheer panic cross her husband's face. "Aw, hon, I'd love to," Doug said. "But ya see, I ain't never been on a plane before. I'm scared ta death of flyin'."

"Oh, Doug, it's twenty times safer than riding in a car!" Jo pointed out.

"Yeah, I've heard that too," Doug replied. "I just don't know whether to believe it or not."

"It's true," Jo assured him. "And way up there in the air, you don't even feel like you're moving at all. You can get up and walk around just like you can here in the living room. And even if you have a window seat, all you can see when you look down is the tops of the clouds below. Most people even sleep on long flights. It's very safe and even kind of boring. The only thing is that sometimes you might get a little of an upset stomach when you're ascending or descending, but it's really no worse than riding an elevator, and also sometimes your ears pop, but you can chew gum to help with that."

"I know all that's true, darlin'," said Doug. "The thought of it still just gives me the willies."

"Well, I won't pressure you to go with me if you really don't want to," Jo replied. "But I would feel a lot better with you along."

Jamie was thrilled when she found out that she'd be returning to New York. "I can't wait to see Sarah again!" she exclaimed. Sarah Bernstein had been her best friend when she'd lived in New York.

Clay was excited about the trip as well. "I've never even been on a plane before!" he declared. "It'll be a real adventure!"

As luck would have it, Doug and Jo watched a movie on television about an airplane crash the night before they were due to depart. "Wow, that made me feel loads better," Doug remarked before going to bed that night.

"Well, you didn't have to watch it with me," Jo pointed out.

"But it _was _a good movie," Doug replied.

The following day, Jo saw that Blair and her children had already arrived. Adam and Alyssa were running around in circles with their arms out at their sides, pretending to be airplanes. "Good thing they're working off their sugar buzz now," Blair laughed.

"Where's Joe?" asked Jo.

"He couldn't make it," said Blair. "Things aren't that great between us right now anyway," she added in a low voice to Jo.

"I'm sorry," Jo said. She glanced at Doug, who looked pale as he clung to her hand. "I hope this proves to you how much I love you," he murmured.

"Of course it does." Jo smiled. "Everything's gonna be fine, sweetheart."


	40. Arriving In New York

Soon it was time to board the airplane. Doug held tightly to his wife's hand the entire time. Once aboard, they found their seats and got ready for take-off. "Here goes nothing," Doug mumbled as the airplane began to move.

Jo chuckled. "It's gonna be all right!"

After a few minutes, a stewardess walked down the aisle pushing a cart which held drinks and snacks. "Got any vodka?" Doug asked her. She looked puzzled.

"This is his first time being on an airplane," Jo explained.

"Oh, I see." The stewardess laughed and patted Doug's shoulder. "Don't worry. We'll take good care of you."

"Yeah." He rolled his eyes. In the end he and Jo both took ginger ales, but Jo only had time to drink about half of hers before Bethany awakened and began to cry, and Jo draped a blanket over her shoulder and nursed her.

A short time later, there was some mild turbulence and the 'fasten seat belts' light came on. Doug's eyes went wide with fear. "It's all right!" Jo laughed and patted his hand reassuringly.

Several hours later, lunch was served. Ravenous, Jo ate every bite of the semi-congealed meat loaf, macaroni and cheese, and green beans. Doug hardly touched his, giving his leftovers to Clay, who of course devoured them in practically no time.

At last the airplane was touching down at the airport in New York. "Whew!" Doug exhaled, obviously very relieved.

"I _told _you everything was gonna be fine!" Jo reminded him.

"You did great, Dad," said Jamie. "I'm proud of you."

"Thank you, darlin'," Doug replied, a little shakily.

From the airport, they took taxis to the motel. Fortunately, Natalie and Tootie had rented adjoining motel rooms. Having not seen their friends since Doug and Jo's wedding the previous year, Jo and Blair greeted them warmly. They both made a big fuss over Bethany, of course, as did Tisha, who'd accompanied her mother.

"The pool here's really great!" Tisha told Jamie. "You _did _pack a swimsuit, didn't you?"

"Like, totally!" Jamie replied. She opened a suitcase and riffled through it until she found her swimsuit, then rushed into the bathroom to change, emerging several minutes later to follow her friend downstairs. A few minutes later, Clay went downstairs as well.

Jo and Doug finished unpacking, and Jo changed Bethany's diaper, fed her, and settled her down for a nap.

Several hours later, Natalie and Tootie invited both families to walk over to the diner beside the motel. Jo and Tootie went downstairs to get Jamie and Tisha from the pool and discovered that, to their dismay, the two girls were nowhere to be found. Clay was asleep on a recliner, and Jo shook his awake. "Where's your sister?" she demanded.

"Huh? I dunno." Clay glanced around sleepily. "They must have gone back upstairs."

"We just came from there!" Jo exclaimed. With their hearts pounding, the two women searched the entire property and were just about to call the police when suddenly the two girls appeared, chatting happily with a couple of teenage boys.

"Where the hell were you, girl?" Tootie exploded, grabbing Tisha's arm. "We've been looking all over for you!"

"Hey, let go!" Tisha angrily jerked her arm away. "We just went for a little walk, that's all."

"Well, you could have at least told us," said Jo. "We were worried to death!"

"We thought we'd be back a long time before you came looking for us," Jamie said sheepishly.

"Well, go upstairs and get dressed," said Jo. "It's time to go for dinner."

"Please don't tell Dad!" Jamie begged. "He'd kill me!"

Jo sighed. "I won't, if you promise to never do anything like that again without telling me first."

"I promise!" Jamie swore.

The diner they went to for dinner was quite nice. Jo had a cheeseburger with everything and fries. "You're gonna pay for that in a few years," said Blair, who was having tuna salad with carrot sticks.

"I know," Jo replied. "But after that stuff they served us on the airplane, I was just so hungry for some real food." She did, however, skip the ice cream cone she'd been planning to have for dessert.

That night, she and Doug lay in bed talking softly together before drifting off to sleep. "As much as I want to see her, I'm kind of afraid at the same time," Jo confessed. "Suppose she looks really bad?"

"However she looks, I'm sure she'll be glad to see you again," Doug replied.

"I know," said Jo. "But it hurts to see someone you love suffering and know that you can't really do anything to help them."

"I'm sure the hospital's keeping her as comfortable as possible."

She reached for him, and he took her into his arms and held her close. "I really am glad you came with me, Doug. I can't imagine going through this without you."

He kissed the top of her head. "I love you, sweetie."

"I love you, too." Soon they were both asleep.


	41. Trouble

As much as Jo had tried to psych herself up for her visit with Mrs. Garrett, it turned out that nothing had prepared her for the sight of her former headmaster. Mrs. Garrett looked as if she'd aged at least twenty years since the last time Jo had seen her. She was completely grey-haired now, her face held many more wrinkles than it had before, and one side of it sagged. Seeing her broke Jo's heart.

"Oh, Mrs. G!" the brunette cried, rushing to embrace the older woman. Mrs. Garrett made some nonsensical sounds, trying her best to speak.

"We all came as soon as we could," said Blair. As Mrs. Garrett looked from one of her former students to another, her eyes filled with tears. It was clear that, although she couldn't speak, she recognized everyone.

"I'm remarried now, and I have a beautiful seven-month-old daughter." Jo showed Mrs. Garrett a photograph of Doug and Bethany. The older woman's eyes lit up. "Jamie's fourteen now. She's going into the ninth grade in the fall. Can you believe she's a high schooler now?"

Mrs. Garrett made a sound that sounded like a chuckle.

"The kids and I live in Oklahoma City too now, close to Jo and her family," Blair added. She left out the news that she was now divorced, as she didn't want to upset Mrs. Garrett with any negative news. "This is the most recent picture of them." She showed her former headmaster a photograph of Adam and Alyssa. Mrs. Garrett tried to smile again.

Natalie and Tootie likewise shared their most recent news, and Tootie showed Mrs. Garrett a recent photograph of Tisha.

The three women visited for the rest of the morning and then went to the hospital cafeteria for lunch. "It really scared me to see her just lying there like that." Tootie sounded as if she were about to cry.

"I know what you mean," Natalie agreed. "I feel exactly the same way."

Blair and Jo were both silent, lost in their own thoughts. Jo was thinking about the last time she'd seen Mrs. Garrett, how healthy and vibrant she'd been then. She seemed like such a different person now. Jo wondered if strokes always did that to people.

* * *

><p>"Want the binky?" Doug asked his infant daughter, who in response angrily threw the pacifier onto the floor and continued to cry. "No binky? You want Mama, don't you? She'll be back real soon."<p>

The doorbell rang, and Doug went to answer it. Before him stood a slender blue-eyed blond boy who looked to be about fourteen. "Hi, I'm Chase," the boy told him. "Is Jamie here?"

"I'm her father." Doug's eyes narrowed in suspicion. "How do you know her?"

"She hung out with us last night," Chase replied. "We met her and Tisha at the pool and they walked to the corner store with us. I bought her a soda and we went for a walk around the block. I told her I'd stop by to take her to a movie today."

"Well, she's not going anywhere with you today," Doug said shortly. "Good-bye." He slammed the door shut and, still holding the baby, went to find Jamie. "We need to talk," he said tersely.

"What is it, Dad?" Jamie feigned innocence.

"A boy named Chase just came to the door, wantin' to take you to a movie. He said you went for a walk with him yesterday."

"Yeah? So?" Her eyes blazed with defiance.

"What made you think you could just go for a walk with a perfect stranger without even asking us first?"

"It was only around the block."

"I don't care if it was to Mexico. You left the motel premises without our permission. Do you realize how dangerous that was?"

"He's a nice guy, Dad, and after all, I _am _fourteen now."

"Yeah, _all _of fourteen. Gimme that tablet."

_"What?" _Jamie shrieked.

"The iPod too, and also the cell phone. No electronic gadgets for a week, young lady. You can read or visit with the rest of the family, and if anything like this ever happens again, I can assure you, the consequences will be much more serious."

"That's not fair!" Jamie was near tears. "My _real _Dad wouldn't have done that!"

Stunned and deeply hurt, Doug walked away without saying another word.

* * *

><p>As Jo returned to the motel with her friends, she was so preoccupied with concerns over Mrs. Garrett's health that she didn't even notice that anything was amiss, until Doug's stony silence and the dried tear tracks on Jamie's face let her know that something unpleasant had happened during her absence.<p>

"What on earth happened?" she asked.

_"He _took all my stuff away," Jamie grumbled.

Jo turned questioning eyes to her husband, and he told her about the incident with Chase.

"Honey, your Dad's only concerned about your welfare," she told her daughter.

"He's _not _my Dad!" Jamie exploded.


	42. Pool Mishap

"Jamie, honey, I'm sorry, but I agree with Doug," Jo told her daughter. "I realize that you're hurt, but you have to understand that what you did was very dangerous. You and Tisha don't really know those boys. You've only just met them. They could be anybody."

"I don't want to talk about it anymore." Jamie turned and stalked angrily away.

She wasn't quite out of the room when Clay breezed through. "Goin' to a movie with Savanna," he told Jo and Doug.

"'Kay! See ya later!" Doug grinned.

"You're letting him go to a movie with Savanna, and _he _just met _her," _Jamie said bitterly.

"Honey, that's a totally different situation," Jo replied. "Clay's seventeen. In less than a year, he'll be an adult."

"And he's a boy. That's the main thing, isn't it?"

* * *

><p>For several days, Jamie refused to associate with the rest of the family at all, except at mealtime, when she sat sullenly and answered questions with flat monosyllables. It didn't help that Tootie hadn't disciplined Tisha at all for the incident and allowed her to continue to see Chase's friend, Dionne.<p>

Jo and her friends spent as much time as they could at the hospital with Mrs. Garrett. The older woman couldn't speak yet, but she always seemed happy to see her former students and was always alert and attentive when they were around her. One day Jo arrived back at the motel to find Doug staring dejectedly at the floor. "She thinks I'm a real meanie now," he muttered.

Jo sat beside him and embraced him. "She's just upset about losing her electronic gadgets. She'll get over it soon."

"I _do _really love her, you know." Doug's voice was husky with emotion. "At first I wasn't sure at all what it would be like to have a teenage girl in the house. It was completely unknown territory to me, and I was really surprised how easy it happened, how natural it was to just love her, as if she were my own."

"I know you love her, Doug, and I appreciate it. I really do, with all my heart." She kissed his cheek. "It's gonna be OK. Just give it some time."

* * *

><p>While Mrs. Garrett was in physical therapy, Jo, Blair, Natalie, and Tootie revisited some of their former favorite places to hang out in Peekskill. Doug went with them most days, as Jo was eager to show her husband how she'd spent her teenage years. She took him to her old school, of course, and also to Edna's Edibles and Over Our Heads. Doug was amazed at all the differences between New York and Oklahoma.<p>

"Man, your friends must think I'm a real hick," he said to Jo one night as they were relaxing in front of the television.

"They don't think that at all," his wife replied. "They all think you're a very nice man. They told me so themselves."

One day Jo met up with Sarah Bernstein's mother, Rachel, at the hospital. "How's Jamie?" Rachel asked.

"She's fine," Jo replied. "How's Sarah?"

"She's all right, but right now she's really concerned about my mother, as we all are. She had a stroke a couple of nights ago, and she's still unconscious. Her doctor doesn't know how bad the damage to her brain was. She's eighty-two, but it's still so hard..." Rachel choked up, and Jo embraced her. "She hasn't been the same since we lost my Dad a couple of years ago, you know. It's like she just totally lost her will to live."

"I'm so sorry!" Jo exclaimed. "I do hope she'll recover. My former headmaster, Mrs. Garrett, had a stroke too. She's still partially paralyzed, but she's doing really well in physical therapy, and they're hoping to transfer her to a rehab center soon."

"So how's life in Oklahoma City going for you?"

"Much better than I could have imagined, actually." Jo smiled. "I met the most wonderful man. His name's Doug Norman, and he lost his first wife in the Oklahoma City bombing. We're married now, and we have a beautiful seven-month-old daughter named Bethany."

"Congratulations! That's wonderful!" Rachel gave Jo a quick hug. "What motel are you staying at? I'm sure Sarah would love to see Jamie again."

Jo gave her directions to the motel and then went on her way.

* * *

><p>Jo had taken Bethany and gone shopping with Blair and Natalie, Tootie and Tisha had gone to visit an old high school friend of Tootie's, Clay was out with Savanna, and Doug was taking a nap when Jamie decided on impulse to return to the pool. She'd been feeling sorry for herself all morning and hoped that lying on a raft and soaking up the sun's rays would make her feel better.<p>

She'd lined the raft up along the side of the pool and was in the process of climbing onto it when it suddenly slipped out from under her and she sank like a stone. She gasped, and her mouth filled with water. As hard as she struggled, she simply couldn't get her head above the water.


	43. Doug To The Rescue

Doug had no idea why he'd been suddenly jolted awake that afternoon. All he knew was that his pounding heart told him that something was terribly wrong. Trying to calm himself, he walked from room to room, becoming increasingly alarmed as he realized that Jamie was nowhere to be found. He left the motel room and walked around the corner. When he caught sight of the pool, his heart began to hammer madly, and he broke into a run.

Reaching the pool at last, the first thing he saw was the empty raft floating lazily on the water's surface, and the next thing he saw was the top of Jamie's head, bobbing just above it.

Quick as a flash, he kicked off his flip flops, dived into the pool, grabbed Jamie around the waist, and swam with her to the steps at the side of the pool.

He lay her on the concrete and then climbed the steps himself. Noticing that she wasn't breathing, he began to perform the Heimlich maneuver on her. Streams of water shot out of her mouth, and after a few seconds, she began gasping for air. The she inhaled sharply and opened her eyes.

"Thank God you're all right!" Doug cried, holding her as if he never wanted to let her go.

Jamie began to cry. "What...what happened?"

"It's all right, baby," Doug murmured soothingly. "You're safe now."

"I...I...I just wanted to float on the raft...but it slipped out from underneath me, and..." She shuddered. "You pulled me out of the water, didn't you? You saved me!"

"I'm just so glad I got here when I did," Doug replied. "If I hadn't come right away..." He choked up and couldn't finish.

"Oh, Daddy, I'm sorry!" Jamie was near tears again. "I shouldn't have got so mad at you. And to think that I even said you weren't my Dad anymore! I want you to always be my Dad, forever and ever!"

"I want that too, sweetie." He embraced her and kissed her cheek, then took her by the hand. "But I think we'd better head on back to the motel room now. Your Mom will be back any minute."

Not wanting to cause Jo any unnecessary stress and concern, he decided not to tell her about the incident; however, he did wonder why he'd just happened to awaken right when he had. He couldn't be sure it wasn't just his imagination, but he could have sworn that he saw Earl wink at him from across the parking lot.

* * *

><p>Jo returned from her shopping trip laden down with packages. "I can't believe how many good sales I found!" she exclaimed.<p>

"Did you find anything for me?" asked Jamie. Jo handed one of the bags to her, and she squealed with delight as she pulled out shorts, tank tops, and swimsuits.

"I found some nice shirts and shorts for you and Clay, and the most gorgeous little baby outfits!" Jo continued, setting the rest of the bags down.

Doug laughed. "I sure hope you didn't break the bank!"

"I put it all on credit cards." Jo looked just a little guilty.

"Well, I guess everyone needs a little retail therapy every now and then." Doug held his arms out to her, and she went into them gratefully.

* * *

><p>One afternoon, Sarah Bernstein came to visit Jamie looking despondent.<p>

"My grandmother's on life support," she explained. "The doctor told my Mom that she could go any minute. He says he doesn't understand how she's lived until now, even."

"Gosh, I'm sorry!" Jamie thought of her own grandmother.

"I just can't believe it," Sarah continued. "I mean, Grandma's _always _been there. She used to babysit me a lot when I was little, and she'd take me to the bakery and buy me donuts or cookies, and we used to ride to the zoo together on the subway, and every year on my birthday, she'd take me to see a movie. I just can't imagine my life without her."

Jamie felt awkward. She didn't know what to say to comfort her friend.

* * *

><p>Earl entered the hospital room of Sarah's grandmother, Veronica Ganz Wedemeyer, to find the elderly woman sleeping peacefully. As he approached her bedside, she opened her eyes and looked at him.<p>

"It's time to go," he said softly, extending his hand. As she took it, suddenly she was no longer lying in a hospital bed, but standing on a hard surface that was surrounded by dazzling light. She saw that Peter was there, looking not as he had when she'd seen him last, but as the slight, wiry twelve-year-old boy he'd been when she'd first met him. He was on roller skates. He smiled and held another pair out to her. She looked down and noticed that she was now twelve years old again as well. Understanding dawning on her, she took the skaes from him and quickly put them on, and they skated away together.


	44. The Funeral

Sarah's grandmother's funeral was the day before Jo and her family and friends were due to leave New York. The relatives who came to the visitation included Rachel's sister and their cousins. Jo and Rachel made the introductions.

"This is my husband Doug, my stepson Clay, my daughter Jamie, and my friends Blair, Natalie, and Tootie," Jo began.

"This is my twin sister, Robin Hirsch, our Aunt Claudia, and our cousins Pam Johnson, Jeanette Miller, Olivia Parks, Margaret Simpson, and Ralph Petronski," Rachel continued.

Ralph was tall and slender, with blond hair and very serious looking pale blue eyes. He looked to be about thirty-five. He smiled as he was introduced to Natalie. "Hi."

"Hello." Natalie thought that he was very nice-looking and wondered whether it would matter to him that she was slightly older than he looked to be. _What am I thinking? _she chastised herself. _This is a **funeral, **for crying out loud!_

"So, are you married?" Natalie was so caught up in her own thoughts that she almost didn't hear Ralph's question.

"Nope. You?"

Ralph shook his head. "Do you live around here?" he asked.

"I live in Los Angeles," Natalie told him. He looked disappointed.

"Look, I know this isn't really the appropriate time to ask, but could I call or email you sometime?"

"Sure!" They exchanged cell phone numbers and email addresses, and Ralph promised to be in touch.

"I'm sorry about your aunt," said Natalie.

"That's all right," Ralph replied. "She lived a full life, and we know she's in a better place now."

Jo had never been to a Jewish funeral before and was glad that Natalie was there in case she needed guidance. The rabbi went around and placed a black ribbon onto everyone's shirt or dress. "You're supposed to tear it at the same time everyone else does," Natalie whispered to her, so she did. The the rabbi said the opening prayers, read some passages from the Psalms, and then delivered the eulogy.

"Veronica Wedemeyer was not born Jewish," he began. "She was born to Frank and Peggy Ganz, who were nonreligious, in New York City in 1929. While she was still a very small girl, Frank and Peggy divorced, and Peggy later married Ralph Petronski, who owned a dry cleaning business."

"Veronica was twelve years old when she met Peter Wedemeyer, who was also twelve and was in her class at school. Although their relationship got off to a rocky start at first, they soon became great friends, and within a few years, they realized that they were in love and wanted to spend the rest of their lives together. Although Peter never pressured her to convert, she did so anyway, in an effort to please his parents."

"Peter and Veronica had a long, happy marriage that produced two children, identical twins Rachel and Robin, who were born in 1961. Peter died of a heart attack at the age of eighty in 2009, and Veronica spent the last two years of her life enjoying the fellowship of her children, grandchildren, and other family members while waiting to be reunited with her beloved on the other side. Well, now the two former roller skating buddies are together again at last." Jo was moved to tears by the rabbi's touching words.

Next the cantor sang the _"El Malei Rachamim', _or Prayer of Mercy, and it was time to go to the cemetery. The family all recited the 'Kaddish' as Veronica was laid to rest beside her husband. A handful of dirt from the land of Israel was thrown into the grave by her son-in-law, Matthew Hirsch.

"Can you sit shiva with us?" Sarah asked Jamie as they were leaving the cemetery.

"What's that?" asked Jamie.

"We'll mourn my grandmother for seven days," Sarah explained.

Jamie shook her head. "I'm sorry, but we have to fly back to New York tomorrow."

"That's all right," said Sarah. "I'll email you soon."

"I didn't know your mother was a convert," Jo said to Rachel.

"Oh, yes! My grandmother never let her forget what a stupid idea she thought it was, either. She never thought much of my father. She was always comparing him negatively to Uncle Stanley."

"How long's your uncle been gone now?"

"About ten years now. My Mom always said he worked himself to death. He did work hard, but he had to. He had a wife and five kids to support. His father, my Mom's stepfather, was the same way."

Savannah accompanied Clay to the airport the following day. The two of them parted tearfully and promised to stay in touch. Doug was much more relaxed on the flight home but nevertheless heaved a huge sigh of relief when the airplane finally touched down. Jo laughed and embraced him.

* * *

><p>Natalie had been home for three days when her cell phone rang, and she answered it to hear a slightly familiar male voice. "Natalie? Hi, it's Ralph Petronski. Are you busy right now?"<p>

"Not at all!" Natalie felt her heart beat faster.


	45. Home Again At Last

"Good," said Ralph. "We didn't get much of a chance to talk in New York, and I'd love to get to know you better."

"Sounds great to me!" Natalie replied. Ralph had crossed her mind a few times since she'd been back home, and she'd wondered whether he'd really been serious about wanting to keep in touch with her.

"So, have you ever been married before?" asked Ralph.

"Nope. Never had time," Natalie replied. "Too busy running all over the world."

"You must have a very glamorous career."

"I'm a news reporter," Natalie told him. "What about you, have you ever been married?"

"No, much to my Mom's consternation." He laughed. "I'm her only son, and she's been pressuring me for years to marry and give my father an heir to carry on his name. Yet here I am, still unattached at thirty-eight."

So he was only seven years younger than her, rather than ten as she'd feared. Yet she realized that that was still quite an age difference. What should she say if he asked her how old she was? How could she tell him the truth without fear that he'd immediately lose interest?"

"What kind of work do you do?" she asked him.

"I'm a third generation dry cleaning entrepreneur," he told her. "My grandfather started with just one store, my Dad increased it to eight, and I inherited the legacy. I'm afraid it's rather boring compared to what you do."

"That's all right," Natalie replied. "After all, _somebody _has to do it."

"That's true." He laughed. "Say, maybe one of these weekends I could fly out to California and meet up with you there."

"Actually, as it turns out, I'm gonna be back in New York for a story in just a couple of weeks. Maybe we could meet up then."

"That's great!" Ralph exclaimed. "I'll be looking forward to it."

"So will I," Natalie replied.

* * *

><p>As soon as the Normans got home, Jamie went to the telephone to call Taylor and tell her all about her trip to New York. Clay disappeared into his bedroom, and Bethany coughed sharply. "She's been coughing like that for a couple of days," Jo mused, feeling the baby's forehead. "I think she'd running a fever, too. I'd better call Dr. Sanders." She did. "She wants me to bring her on in," she told Doug.<p>

"Then do it, by all means," Doug replied. "I'll finish the unpacking."

As Jo drove her daughter to the doctor's, Clay looked through the stack of mail on the table. "Nothin' from Savanna," he muttered.

"We only just got back," his father reminded him. "Give it a few days."

Taylor arrived for a visit about thirty minutes later, and she and Jamie disappeared into Jamie's bedroom. Jo arrived at Dr. Sanders' office to find it so crowded that it was a challenge just to find a seat. She signed her daughter in and settled back for the long wait.

Another baby in the room was wailing, and Bethany soon followed suite. As she opened her mouth, Jo saw a tiny glint of white in the baby's lower gum. "You're getting your first tooth, Bethany!" she exclaimed.

After a couple of hours, Dr. Sanders' nurse called Jo and Bethany back. "She has croup," Dr. Sanders told Jo after examining the baby. After telling Jo to buy a nebulizer to use in the baby's room, she sent them on their way.

While in WalMart searching for the nebulizer, Jo ran into Grace's younger sister, Paige. "Oh, she's adorable!" Paige exclaimed. "I don't think I've even seen her since she was christened. How old is she now?"

"Seven months," Jo replied. "She has croup, and I have to buy a nebulizer for her. How have you been?"

"Great!" Paige replied with a brilliant smile. "Buck and I just found out we're expecting. I'm here looking for maternity clothes."

"Congratulations!" said Jo.

"Yeah, we'd been trying for awhile," Paige told her. "We were just about to give up and start looking into adoption when we suddenly got this wonderful surprise."

Briefly Jo reflected upon the ease with which Bethany had been conceived following just one act of unprotected sex. "Well, I wish you the best," she told Paige.

She arrived home to find Doug sitting in the recliner. Bethany reached for him, and he took her into his arms. "Come here, little bits," he said. "What's the news on this one?" he asked Jo.

"She has the croup," Jo told him. "I had to stop by WalMart to buy her this nebulizer. She's also cutting her first tooth. I saw it for the first time in the waiting room."

"Well, how 'bout that?" Doug chuckled. "Can Daddy see?" he asked his daughter, who cooed in response.

Neither of them particularly felt like cooking that evening, so Doug ordered take-out pizza. Taylor stayed for dinner, and then her mother picked her up and took her home. Jamie went along with them to spend the night.

Later Doug set the nebulizer up in Bethany's room and turned it on before retiring for the night. He entered the bedroom to find his wife sitting up in bed, reading a novel. He sat beside her on the bed and gently took it from her. "I've got more interesting activities in mind than that," he murmured as he began to place light kisses along the side of her neck. She moaned as she ran her fingers through his hair.

"I love your hair," she told him. "It's so thick and luxurious."

"Thank you." He chuckled. "And unlike so many men my age, I've still got a head full of it."

Gently his fingers moved beneath her pajama top and lifted it over her head, and his lips resumed their activity, gently caressing first her collarbone, then her already erect nipples. As she continued to moan in rapture, he placed light butterfly kisses on the warm softness of her abdomen, then finished undressing her.

After making love, they lay cuddling in one another's arms. "Boy, it's good to be back home," said Doug.

"It is," Jo agreed. Although she'd personally rather enjoyed the hustle and bustle of New York life, she knew that her more laid-back husband had found it a bit exhausting. "And it's such a relief to know Mrs. G.'s gonna be all right."

As they lay contentedly in one another's arms and slowly drifted to sleep together, Jo's heart swelled with love for her husband.


	46. High School Orientation

In August, Jo took Jamie to her ninth grade orientation at Oklahoma High. Although excited at first, Jamie quickly became intimidated at the sight of the long hallways lined with lockers, and her apprehension only increased as she entered the large auditorium with her mother. Bethany, riding in her stroller, babbled happily.

"Hey, Jamie!" Jamie turned to see an excited Taylor rushing to meet her, trailed by Cathy and a bored-looking Kennedy.

"Hi." Jo smiled at Cathy.

"Hi," Cathy replied. "Hard to believe they're already in high school, isn't it? It seems like only yesterday they were in kindergarten."

"Yeah, I know." As Jo found a seat and sat down and looked around, her mind went back to when she herself had arrived at Eastland School more than thirty years previously. It had been the first time she'd ever met Mrs. Garrett, Blair, Natalie, Tootie, and the others. Little did she realize at the time that she'd soon be forging friendships that would last a lifetime.

The principal, Mr. Stanford, gave a speech welcoming all the new students and telling a little bit about the school's history. Next he introduced the assistant principal, the coaches, the administrators of the yearbook and school newspaper staffs and various other faculty members, and then he discussed all the different clubs and organizations that were accepting new members. Lastly, all the new students were released to meet their new teachers.

Jamie was excited to be taking Spanish this year. It would be her first opportunity to learn a foreign language in school. The Spanish teacher turned out to be a middle-aged man named Mr. Cruz. He greeted Jo and Jamie politely and talked a little bit about the curriculum for the year.

On the way home, Jo went through the McDonald's drive-through for lunch. She was almost at the payment window when a van driven by an obese black woman attempted to cut in line ahead of her. Jo hit the horn and stepped on the accelerator, zooming past the woman, who screamed obscenities after her. "I don't have time for this crap," Jo muttered. Jamie giggled.

Jo collected the food and then drove to the park, where they sat on a bench to eat their meals. After that, Jo pushed Bethany on the baby swing for awhile, and then they went home. Jo put Bethany down for a nap and then got busy with her home business until it was time to start dinner. She made chicken and rice with peas for Bethany and tacos for everyone else. Doug arrived home soon and kissed her hello. "How did it go?" he asked.

"Fine," Jo replied. "Jamie really wants to be on the newspaper staff, but she can't do that _and _take Spanish."

"She'll have more chances to take electives in the upper years, once she gets all the required courses out of the way," Doug replied. "That's the way it was for Clay."

"I just can't believe she has to have all these math courses to graduate," said Jo. "I certainly didn't have to have a geometry credit to graduate."

"I didn't neither," Doug replied. "They've really cracked down on all the stuff kids have to learn these days. It's ridiculous. I ain't used algebra a day in my life."

"Neither have I," said Jo.

* * *

><p>Jamie quickly adjusted to getting up early in the morning and boarding the bus with Clay. She enjoyed her new classes and made new friends, and although she grumbled about having to get up earlier now, she was glad to have more free time in the afternoons.<p>

In the meantime, Natalie looked forward to her upcoming trip to New York and the chance to see Ralph again. At last the day arrived that she was to meet him in a restaurant near the motel she'd be staying in. She recognized him as soon as she saw him, even though he was seated with his back to her. As she approached the table, he turned to her and smiled. "Natalie!"

"Hi, Ralph." He pulled her chair out for her, and she sat down, feeling both excited and a bit nervous. "Did you have a pleasant flight?" he asked as the waiter arrived to take their orders.

"It was fine." She ordered a medium-priced meal with iced tea. Ralph smiled. "I like the way your smile lights up your whole face," she told him.

"Thank you." He blushed shyly. "You have a very nice smile as well." She got the impression that he didn't have much experience with women.

"It's funny," she said. "We were both born in New York and lived here until we were adults but never met until just recently."

"It's not that funny, when you consider that almost twenty million people live in the state," Ralph replied.

"You're right, of course." Natalie giggled nervously. "I was mainly just trying to make conversation. So, tell me about your family."

"My Dad and I were always very close," he told her. "I think his loss affected me more than any of the others, but of course they all have families and I don't."

"The others?"

"I have four older sisters, Pam, Jeanette, Olivia, and Margaret. Pam's married to a dentist and lives in Manhattan. They have two teenagers, a boy and a girl. Jeanette's a first violinist for the New York Philharmonic Orchestra. She's married and has a son. Olivia's a secretary with two daughters, and Margaret's a former model. She has a little boy."

"Wow, a first violinist and a former model!"

"Margaret's really beautiful. She always has been, even when she was a very little girl, and Olivia's always been very jealous of her because of it." He chuckled. "So, how many brothers and sisters do you have?"

"I'm an only child."

"Oh wow, I can't even imagine what that must have been like! Weren't you awfully lonely?"

"Sometimes. But when I got to high school, I met Tootie and Blair and Jo, and ever since then, I've always thought of them as the sisters I never had."

Natalie enjoyed talking to Ralph so much that their conversation continued until long after the meal had ended. She found herself really puzzling over the mystery of how Ralph Petronski had almost made it to the age of forty without ever getting married.


	47. The Police Explorers

The date ended far too soon for Natalie, and Ralph paid the bill and walked her to her motel room. "I had a wonderful time," he told her. "I'd like to see you again before you head back home."

"I'm here for a couple of weeks, so we'll have plenty of opportunity." Suddenly Natalie felt tremendously depressed.

"Great! I'll be in touch." Ralph gave her a friendly grin, and her heart did crazy flip-flops. She was relieved that the subject of her age hadn't come up but knew that it would eventually and wondered what she'd do when that happened. She'd always believed that honesty was the best policy, but if it came down to a choice between fibbing a little and losing the opportunity of a relationship with Ralph, she had to say that it would be a difficult decision to make. A very difficult one.

At the same time, the irony of the situation angered her. She knew that if things were reversed and it was Ralph who was seven years older than her instead of the other way around, nobody would think twice about it. Why did there have to be such a double standard? What chances did a woman who reached middle age without ever having married really have? Slim and none, she told herself glumly.

Suddenly she thought of Tootie, whose husband, Jeff Williams, had passed away several years previously. Was it better to have been married and widowed than to have never been married at all? She decided that she honestly couldn't say.

Ralph called her the next day. "I just wanted to let you know I had a very nice time last night," he told her. "I can't wait to see you again."

"As it turns out, I have a couple of free hours tomorrow," she replied. "How does lunch in Central Park sound?"

"Great!" he replied. "I'll meet you at the Boathouse Cafe."

"Fantastic!"

The next day she saw him standing by one of the columns, nervously glancing at his watch. He was every bit as impeccably dressed as he'd been on their first date. He saw her and grinned. She smiled and waved, and he waved back.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" He nodded toward the wooded area. "I've always loved to come here, ever since I was a little boy."

"I've been here a few times," Natalie replied. "The last time was awhile ago. I haven't seen nearly everything there is to see here."

Ralph chuckled. "Well, by all means, I hope you'll let me show you around!"

After they'd eaten their sandwiches, they went for a walk in the woods. The leaves hadn't quite begun to change colors yet, but they would soon. "I've never seen anything quite this lovely before," Natalie remarked.

"It's almost as lovely as you are." Before she realized what was happening, his lips were on hers, and they were kissing passionately. His hands began to roam all over her body, and she felt her nipples harden beneath her bra. Gently he laid her back in the leaves and lay atop her, and she suddenly became frightened.

"No! Wait! This is all wrong!"

"What is it?" Ralph looked surprised and hurt. "I thought you liked me!"

"I _do," _Natalie insisted. "But this is all just going so fast...I mean, I barely know you..."

Without a word, Ralph got to his feet and began to walk slowly out of the woods. Natalie followed and soon caught up with him. "This is all my fault," he muttered. "We were having such a good time, and then I had to go and ruin it."

"It's all right, Ralph." Suddenly she had the overwhelming urge to comfort him. "You didn't do anything wrong. You stopped when I asked you to."

Ralph sighed. "I've never really had a serious girlfriend, Natalie. All I've ever had is an occasional date every now and again. I really like you...a _lot. _When I think about the fact that you're going back home in just a little while, it makes me feel really sad. I feel...I don't know, desperate to make the most of the time we _do _have together."

"I feel the same way," Natalie confessed. "But it's not as if this is the last time we'll ever see each other. I'll come back to New York some day, or you can come to California, and in the meantime, there's the phone and the internet."

"Yeah." Ralph grinned. "Sure beats snail mail, doesn't it?"

* * *

><p>"Jamie got an application for the Police Explorers in school today," Jo told Doug over dinner one night.<p>

"Oh yeah? That's great!" Doug exclaimed. "Clay's been in that for three years, you know. That's how he met Benjamin Cooley. They've been best friends ever since then."

"I know," Jo replied. "Jamie's father was in it when he was young, too."

"Can I be in it too? Please?" begged Jamie. "It sounded like it would be a lot of fun!"

"Of course you can, sweetheart," said Doug. "I know you'll enjoy it. Clay sure has."

"You get to ride around in police cars and learn how to do things like dusting for fingerprints," Clay interjected. "It's really interesting."

After dinner, Jo signed the application giving permission for Jamie to be in the Police Explorers.


	48. Visiting The Petronskis

"Somethin' tells me you're not exactly thrilled about Jamie bein' a Police Explorer," Doug said to his wife as they were preparing for bed that night.

"Oh, Doug, I'm just so worried!" Jo exclaimed. "The day Rick died was such a horrible day, and every time I think about Jamie possibly wanting to become a cop herself, that just all comes rushing back to me. I know it's a very dangerous job, and I just don't think I could stand it if something like that happened to Jamie!"

"Oh, hon." Doug went to her and put his arms around her. "I remember when I got drafted to go to 'Nam in '69. My Mom cried as I hugged her good-bye before gettin' on the plane. 'Always remember how much I love you,' she said. I was your typical kid, always tryin' to look tough on the outside, but the last time I saw my Mom before leavin' for that Asian jungle, I was almost cryin' myself. It was a real emotional time for us all."

"You never told me you were in Vietnam!" Jo exclaimed.

"It ain't exactly somethin' I like to talk about," Doug replied. "I saw a lot of sufferin' over there, a lot of dyin'. You ever see somebody die right in front of your eyes? I have. Buddy of mine stepped on a land mine. Body parts flew everywhere. I saw the whole thing. It gave me nightmares for months."

"That's terrible!" said Jo.

"It sure was," Doug agreed. "But the point I was tryin' to make is, when it's time to let your child go, you have to let 'em go. They have to make their own way in the world, just like we did. You don't stop lovin' 'em, but you can't hang onto 'em. I know my Mom was real worried about me the whole time I was over there. When I came back, I could tell she'd really aged. She'd never been so glad to see me."

"I'll bet!"

"Listen, darlin.' I worry about Clay somethin' fierce sometimes, especially after what happened to his Mom, so I understand how you feel about Jamie. But they're growin' up. and we have to let 'em go."

"Yeah, I know," Jo said softly. "But sometimes it's just _so _hard!"

* * *

><p>"Ralph tells me you're a news reporter," Claudia Petronski said to Natalie. The elderly widow had invited the younger woman over for dinner because she wanted to get to know her better. Ralph and two of his sisters, Pam and Olivia, were also there.<p>

"Yes," Natalie replied. "I've always been fascinated by world events."

"What do your parents do?" asked Claudia.

"My Dad was a doctor," said Natalie. "He died of a sudden heart attack when I was a teenager."

"We lost our Dad the same way," Olivia remarked.

"Does your Mom live near you?" asked Pam.

Natalie shook her head. "She still lives here in New York. I visit her as often as I can." She felt as if she were on the witness stand in a court room, being interrogated by an attorney.

The Petronskis asked her a few more questions about her family, and then Ralph took her back to the motel.

"She looks so old," Claudia said to her son when he returned. "She looks at least Olivia's age, if not even older."

"Kind of heavy too," Olivia commented.

"Look who's talking," said Pam.

'I'll have you know I lost ten pounds on my last diet!" Olivia retorted. "I'll never be precious _Margaret's _size, but I'm trying!"

"What if she's too old to give you a baby?" Claudia asked her son.

"Isn't it a bit early to be thinking about that?" asked Ralph.

"It's an important issue," his mother replied. "You need a son to carry on the family name. You've waited long enough as it is. If you never have kids, who will you leave the business to when you die?"

"I have plenty of nieces and nephews," Ralph pointed out.

"But I thought you wanted children!" Claudia whined plaintively.

"I _do, _and if it happens, great, but if it doesn't, that's OK, too," Ralph replied. "There's always adoption."

Claudia rolled her eyes. "Your poor father," she sighed. "He'd turn over in his grave if he could hear you now."

* * *

><p>The first meeting of the Police Explorers involved mostly the introduction of the new members and an overview of the organization. Toward its end, Jamie had a conversation with Clay's best friend, Benjamin Cooley. She told him about her biological father's death. "At least your Dad died in a way you can be proud of instead of ashamed of," Benjamin said.<p>

"What do you mean?" asked Jamie.

"My Dad was executed two years ago for killing a prison guard," Benjamin told her.

"You're kidding!" she exclaimed.

Benjamin shook his head. "I wish I was."

Jamie didn't know what to say. She couldn't think of a worse way to lose a parent than that.


	49. Caesars Palace

"I could tell I didn't make much of an impression at all on your family," Natalie said glumly as she and Ralph were parting at the airport.

"Oh, they're always like that when I introduce them to someone new," Ralph replied. "They'll come around. They always do."

On the flight back to California, Natalie still couldn't help but wonder whether she'd ever hear from Ralph again. She'd sensed his mother's and sisters' strong disapproval and imagined that they probably had a strong influence on him. If they told him not to see her anymore, he'd probably listen to them, she supposed. _How many women have they already driven out of his life? _she wondered.

After arriving home, she was soon busy with her usual activities and had put the relationship with Ralph to the back of her mind when one day she realized that she hadn't heard from him since they'd said good-bye at the airport. _Maybe he's just been busy, _she told herself, but she wasn't able to make herself believe it.

It was a pleasant Friday evening in late October when she answered her doorbell to see that, to her astonishment, Ralph stood there, casually dressed in jeans and a t-shirt. He'd grown a mustache, which made him look much more attractive as well as slightly older.

"Ralph!" she exclaimed.

"Well, aren't you going to ask me in?" he laughed.

"Oh, of course! Come on in..."

"First of all, I want to apologize for being out of touch for so long." He took a few steps into the apartment. "I could say I've just been extra busy, but that would be a lie." He hung his head, looking guilty, and Natalie felt her stomach tie up in knots. Had he flown all this way just to break up with her?

"To say that my Mom disapproves of my seeing you would be an understatement," Ralph continued. "As soon as you'd left New York, she really let me have it. She told me that if I married you, I'd be throwing away my chances for happiness and for ever becoming a biological father. She got my sister Margaret to introduce me to this twenty-five-year-old girl named Sheila. She seemed really nice at first, and we went out together a few times, but it ended up being a total disaster. We had absolutely nothing in common. She liked hip hop; I preferred classic rock. She was into anime and manga; I've never had the slightest interest in anything remotely Japanese, not even sushi. After two or three dates, we agreed to be just friends."

"That's interesting," Natalie said coolly.

"Please don't be angry," Ralph begged. "I feel really bad about not calling for so long."

"So you just hopped on a plane and flew right on over, just assuming that last resort Natalie would be available."

"I came over in person because I was afraid if I called after all this time, you'd just hang up on me." He reached into his pocket. "And also to show you these."

Natalie squealed when she saw what he was holding. It was two reservations to Caesars Palace.

* * *

><p>"This is the booking area," Officer Jones said to Jamie and all the other Police Explorers. "And this is a holding cell." Jamie glanced over at her stepbrother to see that his eyes were glazed over with boredom. He, as well as most of the other returning scouts, had already been on this tour several times and practically knew it by heart. For Jamie and the other new scouts, it was an interesting and exciting experience.<p>

Next she found herself walking past a row of tiny cells, each one completely empty except for a cot, a wash basin, and a toilet.

"God, how could anyone live like this," she muttered.

"It makes you think twice about committing a crime, doesn't it," Clay remarked. "Hey, where's Benjamin?"

His friend seemed to have disappeared. The remaining scouts looked all around for him but didn't see him. "Maybe he just stepped outside for a minute," Officer Jones said. "He'll probably be right back." Yet Benjamin still hadn't returned by the end of the tour, and the others were beginning to get worried about him. They went outside the jail to look for him and finally found him hanging around behind the jail.

"What are you doing out here?" asked Clay.

"I just couldn't take it anymore," Benjamin replied. "Being in there, seeing all that stuff...it just reminded me too much of going to visit my Dad before he was executed."

All Jamie could think about was the photo of her father's smiling face which her mother still kept on the mantel, and the expression that had been on Doug's face after he'd pulled her out of the pool the previous summer.

* * *

><p>"Wow!" was all Natalie could say. The imposing structure, the waterfalls, and the lush interior were the grandest things she'd ever seen. The suite was easily the largest she'd ever stayed in. Besides the large double bed, it also contained a table and chair, sofa, and sliding glass doors with a view of the pool. On the wall opposite the bed, there was a large TV screen suspended over a spacious desk with a lamp at each end. <em>Those tickets must have cost a fortune, <em>she said to herself.

Ralph laughed with amusement at the expression on her face. "Well, what do you want to do first?"


	50. Jamie's Report Card

"Gosh, there's just so many choices!" She had no idea what to suggest.

"Want to go shopping?" asked Ralph.

"You mean there are stores right here in the building?"

"You bet!"

They went to the Forum and Appian Way shops. Natalie didn't buy much, as everything seemed so expensive, but she had lots of fun looking. "Hungry yet?" Ralph asked after awhile.

"I'm starved!" Natalie replied, suddenly realizing that it was true.

They went to the buffet, and Natalie's eyes nearly popped out of her head when she saw what was offered. Never before in her life had she ever seen such a large selection of food in one place at one time. Ralph saw her face and laughed. "Can't decide what to have first, huh?"

After a few seconds of indecision, she chose a salad, a roast beef sandwich, and onion rings. After eating their fill, they went dancing at the Omnia nightclub. Natalie was having such a good time that she didn't even realize how late it was getting to be until Ralph tapped her on the arm. "We'd better head on back to our room now," he said. "Do you have any idea what time it is?"

Natalie looked at her watch and gasped.

Back at their room, Ralph disappeared into the restroom and didn't come back out for what seemed to Natalie to be a really long time. She was beginning to wonder whether something was wrong when the door opened and he stood there grinning at her. "I ran us a bath," he said.

Stunned, she didn't know how to respond. She'd been on less than half a dozen dates with Ralph, and he wanted them to take a bath together? Before she could say a word, he'd taken her hand and led her into the bathroom, where she just stared, overwhelmed.

The scent of gardenia was in the air, and red rose petals floated on top of the water in the tub. The light of several burning candles gave the scene a warm glow. "Wow!" Natalie breathed.

"Well, shall we begin?" Ralph winked at her.

She slowly began to undress, and out of the corner of her eye, she saw that he was doing the same thing. When they were both completely undressed, she gazed into his eyes, determined not to let her own wander any lower, but he allowed his to slowly gaze the entire length of her body. "Wow, you're really beautiful!" he told her.

"Thank you," she mumbled, blushing fiercely as she stared at the ground. She felt for the side of the tub with her hand but couldn't find it, took a blind step, and nearly tumbled right into the water. Ralph laughed heartily as he helped her up.

"It would help to watch your step," he remarked.

"Sorry," she muttered.

"Hey, that's OK. You don't have to be shy around me."

They were now both completely immersed in the tub, and all that Natalie could see of Ralph was his head and shoulders, so she began to relax a little. "Shall we bathe each other?" Ralph looked really eager.

"I suppose so," Natalie said hesitantly. Within moments, she was feeling much more bold as she and Ralph gently massaged one another with sponges, and by the time they'd finished, they were giggling together and she forgot to look down as they climbed out of the tub.

After drying one another off with fluffy towels, they went back into the bedroom. Natalie wasn't a bit surprised when she saw him open the top drawer of the dresser and take out a condom.

* * *

><p>Jamie sat on the school bus on the way home, staring glumly at the envelope containing her report card. She dreaded showing it to her mother and Doug. She'd groaned in dismay when she'd seen the 'D' she'd received in science. It had never been her best subject, but in middle school, she'd struggled through and barely managed to squeak by. For the first grading period of her freshman year, she'd tried her best but found that that simply didn't seem to have been enough.<p>

When the bus reached the corner of her street, she slowly got off it and trudged home, far behind Clay. As soon as Jo saw her daughter's face, she knew that something was wrong.

Jamie sighed and wordlessly plopped the envelope onto the kitchen counter. Jo frowned as she picked it up. She took the report card out and looked at it. "Well, it looks like you did pretty good, except in science," she remarked.

"I'm sorry, Mom! I tried to do better, I really did!"

"Well, it looks like you're just going to have to try harder," Jo replied.

More than anything, Jamie dreaded having to show the report card to Doug. He'd promised dinner at a restaurant to celebrate if she and Clay both brought home good report cards. Now he wouldn't want to go, and it would be her fault.

She disappeared into her bedroom for several hours, until she heard a soft rap on her door. "Jamie? It's me. Can I please come in?"

She recognized Doug's voice and reluctantly got up to let him in. "want to talk about your science grade?" he asked.

"Oh, Daddy, I'm sorry!" Frustrated, she burst into tears. "I tried so hard, but I just couldn't understand all that stuff!"

"It's all right, sweetie. I ain't mad." Doug embraced his stepdaughter. "I know how hard you tried. I've seen how much time you spend doin' homework. I'm wonderin' if we need to get some extra help for you."

"I just feel so stupid!" Jamie wailed.

"Aw, don't be like that!" Doug chuckled. "Just 'cause you need a little extra help every now and then don't mean you're stupid. Heck, I came pretty close to flunkin' English _my _freshman year. My Daddy had to spend hours with me goin' over all that verb conjugatin' an' all that stuff before I finally got it. You'll get it too, darlin'. All it takes is time an' effort, and a whole lot of determination."

"Is Clay mad at me 'cause we can't go out to dinner because of me?"

"Who says we ain't goin' out for dinner?" Doug laughed. "We're leavin' just as soon as you get your jacket on!"

"Wow, thanks, Dad!"

"No problem at all, sweetie." Doug embraced her again.


	51. No Time To Lose

Natalie lay in the plush, comfortable bed in her suite at Caesars Palace, basking in the afterglow of her first lovemaking session with Ralph. It had been the perfect culmination to her exciting first day in Las Vegas. Ralph had been gentle, concerned with her comfort and pleasure, and an encounter which she'd feared would be awkward had turned out to have been an enjoyable interlude.

"Are you OK, Nat?" Natalie looked over to see that Ralph was also awake.

"I'm fine. Are you?"

"I'm great." He grinned and pulled her closer. "So are you enjoying our vacation so far?"

"I'm loving it!"

"Good." He looked thoughtful. "I've been doing a lot of thinking, Nat, and I now realize that you're the woman I want to spend the rest of my life with." He sat up and opened the top drawer of the dresser beside the bed, from which he retrieved a small box. Natalie gasped when he opened it. Inside was a beautiful diamond ring. "Will you marry me?"

Natalie was startled. She'd met this man less than six months ago, had been with him maybe a half dozen times or so at the most, not counting the trip to Las Vegas, and now he was actually _proposing _to her?

"But...but this is just so sudden!" she stammered.

"That doesn't matter, as long as it's the real thing, and I know that I love you, Nat. Don't you love me?"

"I'm certainly very fond of you, Ralph." Natalie couldn't stop looking at the ring. "But we live on opposite coasts. One of us would have to uproot our entire life to move to be with the other."

"So I'll relocate my dry cleaning business. That's no big deal. People in California have to have their clothing dry cleaned just like people in New York do."

"But that's such a big step! And what if it doesn't work out?"

"Of course it will work out! Why shouldn't it?"

"Well, there's no guarantee..."

"I'm willing to take that chance. To me, you're worth it." The look in his pale blue eyes melted Natalie's heart. "So what do you say, Nat?"

"Well..." Ralph seemed so different from all the other men she'd dated, so much more serious and mature. And if he moved to Los Angeles to be with her, it would be far away from his interfering mother and sisters. And she simply couldn't take her eyes off that beautiful ring. "All right!"

* * *

><p>"I know the man who owns that bull," Doug told Jo. His arm was around her as she pushed Bethany in her stroller at the county fair. As they walked past the livestock exhibit, Jo had to wrinkle her nose as a gust of wind blew the pungent stench of manure in their direction, but it didn't seem to bother Doug at all.<p>

"He raised it from a tiny calf," Doug continued. "I remember going to visit him and feeding it apples. Just look how big it is now!"

They arrived at the petting zoo. "Look at the baby lambs, Bethany!" Jo said to her daughter. "Aren't they cute?"

She took the little girl out of her stroller and stood her on the ground. Then she showed her how to pet the lamb. Bethany's face lit up, and she giggled. Doug put a coin in the food dispenser, then fed the lamb from his hand. "Want to feed the lamb?" he asked Bethany. He placed a couple of pellets in her hand, and the lamb ate them.

"Don't forget the hand sanitizer," Jo reminded them as they left for the next exhibit. They toured the Girl Scouts, 4H and art exhibits, then moved on to the Police Explorers exhibit, where both Jamie and Clay busily handed out leaflets and demonstrated how to take fingerprints.

"Jay Jay!" Bethany clapped her hands excitedly when she saw her older sister.

"Hi, Bethy!" said Jamie.

"How's it going?" Jo asked her daughter.

"Gosh, it's been so busy!" Jamie exclaimed.

"You think it's bad tonight, try doing this all day on a Saturday," Clay told her. Doug and Jo laughed.

* * *

><p>"By the powers vested in me, I now pronounce you husband and wife," said the officiate at the chapel at Caesars Palace. "You may kiss the bride."<p>

Natalie closed her eyes as Ralph kissed her lips, and then they left the chapel with their arms around one another. "Wow, we really did it!" Natalie exclaimed.

"Yep." Ralph grinned.

"So what happens next?"

"I find appropriate rental space in Los Angeles, then return to New York to take care of business at that end. As soon as everything's settled, I'll rejoin you in California permanently."

"And how long do you think that will take?"

"Not longer than two or three weeks at the most, I'd imagine."

"Wow, things are happening pretty quickly for us!"

"I know." He grinned. "But at my age, there's no time to lose!"

* * *

><p>"No! You didn't!" Jo gasped over the telephone.<p>

"I know it seems kind of sudden, and totally unlike me, but I know that what Ralph and I have is the real thing, so there wasn't any point in waiting any longer."

"Are you out of your friggin' mind?" Jo was practically screeching. "You met this guy in, like, June at the earliest? And here it is not even Christmas yet and you're already hitched?"

"I know it sounds crazy," Natalie confessed. "But now that I've finally found the right guy, I couldn't just let him slip away, could I?"

"I really think you should have given this a lot more thought," Jo told her friend. "I'm afraid you're gonna end up regretting it some day."

"I appreciate your concern," Natalie replied. "But you don't know Ralph like I do, and I really think everything's gonna be fine."

"So she married that fellow she met back in New York last summer?" Doug laughed.

"Yes, she did, and I don't think it's funny at all!" Jo snapped.

"Aw, c'mon, hon." Doug reached for his wife and pulled her onto the sofa beside him, and she snuggled into his arms, resting her head on his shoulder. The steady thump of his heartbeat soothed her. "It ain't like you and I knew each other terribly long before we tied the knot ourselves."

"That's true," Jo admitted. "But at least we lived in the same city, so we saw a lot of each other when we were first getting together."

"Oh, yeah, he's got some kind of dry cleanin' thing in New York, don't he? What's he doin' about that?"

"She says he's moving the business to Los Angeles."

"Ain't that gonna be kind of tough? I hope it works out for them."

"So do I," Jo replied.


	52. Jeanette

"So how did she take it?" asked Natalie. After days of avoiding contact with his mother, Ralph had finally called her to tell her of his marriage to Natalie and move to California.

"How do you _think _she took it?" Ralph snorted. "She's furious, of course, but I let her have it good. Told her exactly how I felt about her and my sisters dominating and controlling my life, how I'm almost forty years old and it's high time I started living life on my own terms."

"I'll bet _that _went well."

"Huh," Ralph spat. "She might not want to accept it, but she's eventually gonna realize that she doesn't have any other choice."

An icy chill went down Natalie's spine. Did Ralph truly love her, or had he married her as an excuse to move away from New York? Whatever the truth was, it was too late to do anything about it now, as she was already married to him.

"Something wrong, babe?" Ralph looked at her with concern.

"Ah, no, everything's fine," Natalie said quickly. "I'm sure she'll come around eventually."

"To be honest, I don't really care whether she does or not. If she really has cut me out of her life for good, it's her loss."

Natalie was shocked. "Did she really say that, that she's cut you out of her life for good?"

"She said that I was no longer her son. She was crying really hard when she said that." For the first time, Ralph sounded slightly uncertain about how he truly felt about the conversation with his mother. Natalie felt slightly guilty. Had she caused a permanent rift between mother and son?

"Hey, don't worry about it. It's not your fault." Ralph seemed to have read her mind. "It'll be all right. It always is."

* * *

><p>For Bethany's first birthday party, Jo went to WalMart and bought party decorations, balloons, disposable plates, cups, and silverware, and a vanilla sheet cake with pink frosting and Miss Piggy decorations. That Saturday morning she decorated the house and invited all her and Doug's family members and close friends.<p>

"Well, hey there, girlie!" Blair, who was first to arrive, sat her present down on the table, picked Bethany up, and kissed her cheek. Bethany smiled and blew a raspberry at Blair, which made everyone present burst out laughing.

"Hard to believe it's really been a whole year," Doug remarked. "Seems like only yesterday I held her in my arms for the very first time."

"This year has really flown by," Jo agreed.

Grace, Rhetta, and Paige were next. Paige's pregnancy was obvious now. "How are you doing?" Jo asked her.

"Great!" Paige replied. "I'm finally over my morning sickness, and now I'm hungry all the time."

Earl arrived alone, bearing a gift. Sensing how special he was, Bethany stopped her play and looked solemnly up at him. Suddenly she broke into a wide grin and held her arms up to him. He picked her up and held her close, and she made happy baby noises. "Happy birthday, little one," he told her. "You've brought so much sunshine into so many lives this year. You truly are a little gift from heaven."

Jo put Bethany in her high chair and then served cake and ice cream to everyone. Bethany immediately dived into the cake with both hands, giggling excitedly as she smeared it all over her face and into her hair. Jo snapped several photographs of her daughter, then cleaned her up and gave her her presents one by one. Jamie showed her how to rip into them and she did so, enthusiastically. In the end, the little girl sat grinning ear to ear in the midst of piles of wrapping and tissue paper. Doug snapped a photograph of her, knowing that it would be one he'd always treasure.

* * *

><p>"It just doesn't seem like Thanksgiving without my family being here." Ralph glanced dismally around the table. Although Natalie had cleaned the apartment from top to bottom and spent the entire morning cooking turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy, peas, and sweet potato crunch, Ralph found the relative silence uncanny.<p>

"I haven't had Thanksgiving with my own family in so long that I can't even remember the last time," Natalie replied. "It's a little strange for the first couple of years, but you'll get used to it."

Ralph stared dismally into his glass of iced tea as he swirled it and watched the ice cubes bob. "I remember how the adults always sat around the table and the nieces and nephews in the living room with TV trays. They'd eat while watching the parade on television. Later on, we men would trade places with them to watch the football game."

"We could watch the football game together later, if you want," Natalie offered.

"Nah, that's all right. I think I'll just take a nap. No point in staying up. I know nobody's gonna call." As it turned out, he was wrong. He'd only been lying down for about half an hour when the telephone rang.

"Hi, may I please speak to Ralph?" asked a woman's voice. "This is his sister, Jeanette."

"Jeanette!" Natalie exclaimed. "Ralph's told me all about you! I'll go see if he's awake."

"Oh, no. Don't disturb him if he's taking a nap," Jeanette replied. "I just wanted to call and wish him a happy Thanksgiving, and you as well, of course."

"Well, I appreciate it," said Natalie. "He's been pretty down lately. He thinks his whole family's mad at him."

"We were all shocked," Jeanette conceded. "But I was never angry at him. He's an adult and is free to make his own choices. I've always felt that way."

"He'll be glad to hear that," Natalie replied. "I hope that you and the rest of the family are all doing well."

"Oh, yeah! We're all fine." Jeanette and Natalie ended up having a lengthy conversation, cut short only by Natalie's concern about the telephone bill. She learned much more about Ralph's family and began to feel very close to her new sister-in-law. She hoped that Jeanette would be able to visit some day.


	53. Randy And Travis

Jo knew her husband well enough that she could tell when something was bothering him. "What's wrong?" she asked as he walked into the living room and sat on the sofa.

Doug sighed. "I just got off the phone with Randy. He's coming here for Christmas this year."

"Well, to me that sounds really nice!" Jo smiled. "You haven't seen him in so long. I think it's great that he's visiting for the holidays."

Bethany toddled over to Doug and patted his knee. "Da da."

"Come here, sweetie!" He picked her up and held her in his lap. "Perhaps," he said to Jo. "It's just that it's been so long, and so much has happened, that I just don't know what it will be like to be around him again. Besides, he said he's bringin' somebody important for me to meet. He wouldn't tell me who. He just said somebody important."

Jo frowned. "That _does _sound strange. Well, I suppose you'll find out when they get here."

A freshly fallen snow lay on the ground on the day Oklahoma High ended classes for the holidays. Jamie was walking to the bus when she felt a soft wetness against the back of her head and turned to see Clay and a couple of his friends doubled over with laughter. Furious, she scooped up a glove full of snow and began to mold it into a ball, but by the time she'd made it, Clay and the others had run far ahead.

With a sigh of frustration, she joined the other students who were boarding the bus. She had to walk past Clay on the way to her seat. "I'm gonna get you!" she told him.

"For what?" he asked, feigning innocence.

They arrived home to find Jo sitting on the sofa, watching Bethany play with her blocks. "Kay Kay!" the little girl cried when she saw her older brother.

"Hey there." Clay picked her up and gave her a hug.

"We're going to the airport tomorrow to meet your Uncle Randy," Jo told the two teenagers.

"Uncle Randy?" Jamie was surprised. "I didn't know we had an Uncle Randy."

"Dad's mentioned him to me before," said Clay. "I think he lives in California."

"I know I don't have to remind the both of you to be on your best behavior," said Jo.

"You don't have to talk to me like I'm twelve," Clay grumbled.

The following day, they watched as a middle-aged man who slightly resembled Doug, accompanied by a man about twenty years younger who resembled Doug even more strongly, walked toward them. "Doug!" cried the older man.

"Randy!" Doug replied. The brothers embraced and greeted one another warmly.

"How ya doin', man? It's been forever, hasn't it?" asked Randy.

"It really has," Doug replied. "Good to see you again, little bro. This is my wife Jo, my son Clay, and my daughters Jamie and Bethany."

"Great to meet you all." Randy grinned. "I'd like you to meet my son, Travis."

"Your _son?" _Doug was taken aback.

"He found me on Facebook earlier this year," Randy explained. "Patty's his Mom. She told him my name, and he looked me up and we started communicating. Turns out he lives in California now too, only a three-hour drive away from me. We've visited back and forth a few times, and I invited him to come along with me back to my old stomping grounds."

Doug looked a bit unsettled. "When's your birthday, Travis?"

"January 16, 1973. Why?"

Doug visibly paled. "No particular reason. I was just curious, that's all."

The family journeyed back to the Normans' house, where Jo had prepared a delicious meal. Everyone was eager to learn more about Travis and asked him many questions. "Are you married?" Jo wanted to know.

"Divorced," Travis told her. "I have two little girls. Katelyn's ten and Kimberlyn's six. They live with their Mom in a neighboring county, and I see them every other weekend." He passed around a photograph of his daughters, and everyone commented on how pretty they were. Jo immediately noticed how closely Kimberlyn resembled Bethany but didn't comment on it. Doug was unusually quiet the entire time, and seemed to be carefully studying Travis.

Travis established a good rapport with Clay and Jamie, asking them many questions about school and their extracurricular activities. They told him about the Police Explorers, and he talked with them about his own high school years. Bethany stole the show, of course, but Travis didn't seem to mind at all. "Your little girl is so precious," he told Jo and Doug. "How old is she?"

"She just turned a year old," Jo told him.

"It seems kind of strange to have a first cousin so much younger than me," Travis remarked. "But that's all right. She's absolutely adorable."

As Jo came to bed that night, she saw that Doug was staring at the ceiling like he did when he was deep in thought. He didn't even notice when she walked into the bedroom. "Penny for your thoughts," she said lightly.

"Oh." He seemed startled for just a moment but quickly recovered. "I can't get it out of my mind, Jo. As soon as Travis told me his birthday, I knew that he wasn't Randy's son. He's mine."


	54. Is He Or Isn't He?

Jo felt as if she'd just been struck by lightning. "Oh, no!" she groaned. "But why didn't Patty tell you?"

Doug could only shake his head. "God only knows. I called her once to make a date, and she told me she'd met another guy. That was the last time I ever talked to her."

"And you're sure that she wasn't still sleeping with Randy?"

"She _told _me she wasn't." For the first time, he seemed doubtful.

"What if she was lying? Randy sure seems to think that Travis is his."

"Look, all I know is his birthday's in mid-January, so he was conceived the previous April. She and I were seein' each other just about every day that month. As much as we were together, I don't see how she could have had time to be with Randy even once."

"You must have kept her pretty busy." Jo wasn't able to keep the sarcasm out of her voice.

"Hey." Doug reached for his wife to hug her, and she reluctantly allowed him to. "That was a long time ago. We were just a couple of horny kids. I didn't even know what love was at that age."

"Do you now?" Jo didn't mean for her voice to come out sounding so cold.

"Of course I do, sweetie. How could you ever doubt that?" He began to fondle her, and soon she was burning with passion.

After making love with her husband, Jo lay awake in his arms for most of the night. If Travis was really Doug's son, then he was Jo's stepson, and his children were Doug's grandchildren and Jo's step grandchildren. As hard as she tried, she simply couldn't wrap her mind around the fact that she was married to a man who was old enough to have grandchildren. It also meant that Doug had missed out on the first almost forty years of his older son's life. How did he feel about that? Suddenly she understood why Patty had dumped Doug so quickly and with so little explanation. She must have been afraid he'd sue for custody, she told herself.

Before she knew it, Doug was shaking her awake. "Wake up, sleepyhead! I think somebody's ready for her breakfast."

"Oh my gosh..." Feeling slightly disoriented, Jo sat up in bed and rubbed her eyes.

Doug laughed. "You were sleepin' like a rock!"

Jo yawned mightily. "I wonder what made me so tired..."

Doug kissed her cheek. "Yesterday was a big day, and you really outdid yourself with that meal. I reckon you're entitled."

Jo fed Bethany her breakfast. Randy and Travis arrived just as she was finishing. "I told the guys Clay and I would go huntin' with them today." Doug sounded almost, but not quite, apologetic.

"That's all right." Jo stared hard at Travis, trying to discern Doug's features in his face. He caught her gaze and gave her a questioning look, and she quickly glanced down. "I'll have dinner ready when you get back."

After the men had left, Jo decided to call Blair. Since Doug was spending the day with the guys, she may as well have a girl's day out with her best friend, she reasoned. Luckily, Blair was home and was happy to hear from her. They made plans to meet at the mall. "So tell me about this long lost son of Doug's," Blair said as the two of them strolled in the mall with their children. Jo pushed Bethany in her stroller.

"He's thirty-eight," Jo told her. "He lives in California. He's divorced and has two little girls."

"And Doug's sure Travis is his son and not Randy's."

"He told me he and Patty saw each other just about every day the month she got pregnant."

"Well, there's one way to find out for sure, you know," said Blair.

"What's that?"

"All three of them could take a paternity test," Blair suggested.

"But wouldn't that be awfully expensive?"

"If they really want to know which one of them is his Dad, it might be worth it."

For dinner that night, Jo made pork chops, macaroni and cheese and green beans. Doug and Clay came home late, exhausted. "Well, did you kill us tomorrow night's dinner?" Jo asked them.

"I shot five quail and two rabbits," Doug replied.

"I just shot a couple of birds," said Clay.

"Quail," his father corrected.

"With some veggies to go along with it, that's plenty enough for a meal," said Jo.

"Once again, you did an outstanding job," Doug told her as he hungrily wolfed down the pork chops. "These are delicious!"

"I'm glad you like them." Jo smiled. "I took the girls shopping with Blair today."

"That's nice. Did you find any good deals?"

"Not really, but we did have fun looking." She couldn't ask him what she really wanted to know until Clay and Jamie were out of earshot. "Well, did you tell Travis that you're really his Dad instead of Randy?"

"Didn't get the chance. Not sure if I could work up the courage to, anyway."

"Why? Are you afraid he'd be disappointed?"

"Naw, it ain't that. I'm scared he'd tell Randy and Randy would get mad at me all over again."

"Blair thinks you guys should get a paternity test so you'd know which one of you is his Dad."

"I guess that would be the only way to know for sure," Doug admitted. "And I sure would like to know."

"I'd really like to know, too."

"But I'm still scared to talk to Randy about it."

"You really think he'd get mad about something that happened that long ago?"

Doug chuckled and shook his head. "My brother can really hold a grudge sometimes."

* * *

><p>"So, when do I get to meet these guys?" Blair asked Jo.<p>

"We're meeting them at Western Steer for dinner Sunday afternoon," Jo replied. "Why don't you meet us there too?"

"Sounds great!" Blair replied. She and Adam and Alyssa arrived at the restaurant at the appointed time. She was dressed stylishly in black leggings and heels with a grey sweater and matching scarf.

Jo made the introductions. "This is my best friend Blair from high school. Blair, this is Randy and Travis."

"Pleased to meet you." As Travis shook Blair's hand, she saw the spark of attraction that passed between them and smiled to herself.


	55. Family's Still Family

"It's lovely to meet you too!" Blair smiled brilliantly as Travis pulled her chair out for her. He looked a bit young, but so what? He was still a very attractive man, and she looked forward to getting to know him.

"I suppose these charming two rug rats are yours."

She laughed, hardly even noticing that he'd just called her children 'rug rats'. "This is Adam, and this is Alyssa."

"Nice to meet you both." Travis shook hands with both children. "I've two of my own, back in California. I already miss them like crazy. I'll show you a photo, if you'd like."

"Oh, yes!" Blair exclaimed.

Jo smiled, noticing how well Blair and Travis seemed to be hitting it off. She remembered that Ralph was a few years younger than Natalie as well. She glanced at Doug and Randy, by now deeply engrossed in conversation. She was happy to see that the two brothers seemed to be getting along so well and dreaded the discord that Doug's revelation about Travis' possible paternity would be sure to cause.

"Oklahoma City seems like such a neat place to live," Travis said to Blair as they ate. "I'm hoping that perhaps you'll get the chance to show me around before I head back to California."

"Sure, I'd be happy to," Blair replied. "I'm kind of new to the area myself, but I could show you some of my favorite places to hang out." Before the meal was over, they'd made a date for a sight-seeing expedition.

Jo was in such a good mood that she even temporarily forgot 'the issue', as she'd come to think of it. "Travis and Blair seemed to really hit it off, didn't they?" she mentioned to Doug on the ride home.

"Yeah! That was great, huh?" Doug grinned. "I reckon he's lonely and needs a woman in his life. Believe me, I know the feelin'!" He patted her knee affectionately.

Later that evening, she and Doug were cuddling on the sofa watching television when she received an unexpected but very welcome telephone call. "Well, hi there, Mrs. G!" She was so excited that she was practically shouting into the telephone. "How are you doing?"

"Pretty well," Mrs. Garrett replied. Her speech was slightly slurred but clear enough to be understood. "I'm able to get around with a walker now. I even do my own cooking. There's a lady who comes in a couple of times a day just to make sure everything's all right."

"I'm so glad to hear you're better," Jo replied.

"How are things going for you, dear?"

"Everything's still fine. Bethany just had her first birthday. She's walking now. Doug's brother Randy and his son Travis are visiting from California."

"That's nice." They chatted for a few more minutes and then said good-bye. Natalie and Tootie both called soon afterwards.

"Things are still going great between me and Ralph," Natalie told her. "My Mom's glad I've finally found someone to settle down with. Ralph's sister Jeanette keeps in touch with us. She seems really sweet. She said that perhaps she'll visit in the summer."

"That's nice," Jo replied. "So do you have both a Christmas tree and a menorah up this year?"

"Of course," said Natalie. "Ralph's family's never really been particularly religious, but they've always had a tree up for the sake of tradition. I don't mind at all. I've been pretty much accustomed to being around Christmas trees all my life, you know."

"And your home doesn't seem overdecorated?"

"Not to us it doesn't."

"Well, that's what's important. As long as the two of you are happy."

On Christmas morning Jo awakened in her husband's arms. "Merry Christmas, sweetie," he said as he kissed her lips.

"Merry Christmas to you too!" She fetched Bethany from her crib. "Hey, want to see what Santa brought you?" The little girl clapped her hands excitedly as her mother carried her into the living room, where Clay and Jamie were already busily ripping into their presents.

"Wow, thanks!" Jamie exclaimed, holding up her her new bedroom slippers.

Jo sat Bethany on the floor and handed one of her presents to her. Together they ripped the wrapping paper off to reveal a wooden ride-on pony that was painted pink and had purple wheels. Doug picked his daughter up and sat her on it.

The morning passed swiftly and pleasantly. Jo spent a relaxing and enjoyable day with her family, all her cares and worries temporarily forgotten. Several days later, however, she came upon Doug sitting on the sofa in the living room staring glumly at the wall. "I just can't let them go back home without knowing for sure," he told her.

She sat beside him. "Well, the only way to find out would be to get together with Randy and have the paternity test done," she replied.

"I know," he said. "I just have to get my nerve up and make that call."

"Why don't you call him up right now?" she suggested. "That way, maybe they could even have the results back before they have to go back home."

"All right. I'll do that."

Jo stayed with him and heard his end of the conversation. "I don't know how to tell you this, Randy, but there's a chance that Travis is really my son, not yours...oh, you did?...whew, that's a relief! I was scared you were gonna get mad at me all over again. Listen, bro, I've been thinkin.' You know there's one way to tell for sure which one of us it is...well, it _does _matter to me, and to Jo too...OK, you do that. Thanks, Randy. This means a lot to me." He hung up the telephone.

"He wasn't shocked at all," he told Jo. "Said he knew all along there was a chance Travis was really mine, that to him it don't really matter 'cause family's still family. I got him to agree to contact Travis and arrange for the three of us to have the test done, though."

The following morning, Randy and Travis arrived to pick Doug up and take him to the lab. "They'll have the results back in five days," he told Jo when he returned. "Right before Randy and Travis fly home."

Jo knew that it would be five of the longest days of her life.


	56. Natalie's Big News

"And the verdict is?" Jo asked as Doug hung up the telephone.

"Travis is Randy's, not mine."

Relief tinged with guilt flooded through her. "Well, how do you feel about that?"

"Glad I didn't marry Patty, that's for sure. I definitely couldn't have ever trusted her. If this ain't proof, I don't know what is."

"Well, she _was _Randy's girlfriend first."

"Yeah. First she cheated on him with me, and then she cheated on me with him. Just goes to show, once a cheater, always a cheater."

"I've never cheated on a boyfriend or husband before, Doug."

"I know you ain't, sweetie. I trust you." He smiled and kissed her lips. "Mary Frances was the same way." He looked a little sad.

Randy and Travis flew back to California the following day. Doug and Jo and their children went to the airport to say good-bye to them, and so did Blair and her children. "I'm sure gonna miss you." Travis held Blair close as he kissed her good-bye.

"I'm gonna miss you too," she replied. "Can't wait till April!" She planned to fly out and visit him over spring break.

"Neither can I!" he replied.

"Neat how that worked out, isn't it?" Jo remarked to Doug on the way home.

"Yeah." He grinned. "A new nephew for me and new love for your friend. I'm glad they came over for the holidays. It was great to see Randy again."

"It was great to meet both of them," Jo replied.

* * *

><p>"Wow, I can't believe it!" Natalie exclaimed.<p>

"Believe it." Dr. Hanson smiled. "I'd place your due date in about mid October."

"I can't wait to tell Ralph!" She stopped by the dry cleaners on the way home. "Where's Ralph?" she asked the girl behind the counter, who was chewing gum and filing her nails.

"Just a sec." The girl disappeared and returned with Ralph a moment later.

"Hey!" he said when he saw his wife. "What's up?"

"Big news! I'm pregnant!"

"Wow!" He laughed as he embraced her. "That _is _big news! When are you due?"

"Mid October. I was shocked that it happened this fast. At my age I expected it would take months and months." _If it ever happened at all..._

"I wasn't really worried about it," Ralph replied. "But I'm glad it happened the way it did. So, who else knows besides you and me?"

"Just the doctor. I can't wait to tell Mom. She'll be thrilled!"

"I'll call Jeanette later. She'll be happy to find out she's gonna be an aunt again."

"I'd think your Mom would be glad to hear about this too. Wasn't one of her major concerns about me that I might be too old to get pregnant?"

"Yeah. I guess I ought to tell her before I talk to Jeanette, but after our last conversation, I just feel kind of hesitant about talking to her again."

"Well, I can certainly understand that, but I was thinking that maybe she'd be happy enough about it that she'd get over being mad."

"Maybe." He chuckled. "I guess I just like playing it safe."

When she got home, she called her mother to tell her. Mrs. Green was surprised but ecstatic and said that she couldn't wait to start knitting blankets and booties and hats.

Ralph took her out to her favorite restaurant that night, and a message was waiting on the answering machine when they got home. Ralph played it back and heard his mother's voice. "What's the deal with telling Jeanette before me? I'm your Mama; I should find out first. But that's all right. I'm not mad at you. I'm really happy for you. Congratulations! So that girl you married turned out to be good for something, after all. You _will _let me know when you find out what it is, right? Although deep down inside, I know it's gonna be a little boy. I've always known you'd have sons. Well, anyway, once again, I'm very happy for you. Talk to you soon. I love you, baby."

Natalie felt tears welling up in her eyes. _So that girl you married turned out to be good for something, after all. _

"That's just the way she talks," Ralph told her. "She didn't mean anything by it."

"Yeah. Right." She knew that all she'd ever be to Claudia Petronski was a breeding machine, and that no matter how much it hurt, she'd have to accept that.


	57. The Accident

"Hey there, girlie!" Travis exclaimed when he saw Blair.

"Hey!" They embraced.

"This is Katelyn, and that's Kimberlyn." Katelyn was almost as tall as Blair and was slender with wavy light brown hair and hazel eyes. Kimberlyn looked a lot like her older sister but was chubbier and had brown eyes. "I've got 'em for the spring break. Where's your young 'uns?"

"With their Dad. He has them for the spring break." They both laughed.

"It's nice to meet you girls." Blair shook hands with both girls, who smiled politely back at her.

"Well, what do you want to do first?" asked Travis.

"Disneyland!" Katelyn and Kimberlyn exclaimed together.

Blair laughed. "Fine with me!"

They spent an afternoon of fun riding rides, watching shows, eating junk food, and getting to know each other. They stayed late and watched the fireworks, and then Travis took them back to his apartment. Both girls fell asleep in the car on the way home, and their father had to shake them awake to go inside. Blair unpacked her suitcase and put her things away while Travis got his daughters settled. She'd just packed away the last item when she felt someone hugging her from behind and turned to look into Travis' grinning face.

"Kids all settled for the night?" she asked.

"Yep. Now it's just me and you." He kissed her, his tongue seeking entrance to her mouth, and she allowed it. Within seconds, their hands were all over one another's bodies, exploring with abandon. Slowly each article of clothing was shed, until at last, completely naked, they tumbled onto the bed together.

* * *

><p>The first few weeks of Natalie's pregnancy were remarkably easy. Mrs. Garrett, Jo, Blair, and Tootie were all surprised and happy for her and wished her the best. A few weeks into the pregnancy, Natalie had to take several blood tests. Dr. Barber called to tell her that one of her test results had had an abnormal result and she needed to come in for an amniocentesis.<p>

"A needle in my belly, ugh!" she complained to Ralph.

"It'll be all right," he replied. "Lots of women have to have that done. I'll go with you and hold your hand, if you want."

"Of course I do!"

A few days later, Ralph stood beside his wife holding her hand as the ultrasound technician moved the wand over her slightly swollen belly. "Oh, our baby!" Natalie exclaimed as their unborn child's image came into view. Ralph clasped her hand more tightly.

"Deep breath," said the technician. Natalie squeezed her eyes shut as the long needle was inserted into her abdomen. A few seconds later, she heard the technician chuckle. "You can open your eyes now. It's all over."

Natalie felt a bit shaky but relieved as they left the clinic. She and Ralph were almost home when it happened. Suddenly she heard a terrific crash as the car rocked violently and she was thrown forward, her body straining against the seat belt.

* * *

><p>"You look so handsome!" Jo told her stepson.<p>

"Thanks." Clay grimaced. He hated wearing ties.

"Everybody ready to go?" asked Doug.

"Ma ma?" Bethany lifted her arms for Jo to pick her up. She was dressed in a light pink frilly dress with rows of ruffles on the skirt and matching light pink pantyhose, and she wore black patent leather shoes. Jo picked her up, and the family walked out to the car together.

Arriving at the church, they saw right away that Paige and Buck were sitting in the front row and that Paige was holding their newborn daughter. "She's precious!" Jo exclaimed. "What's her name?"

"Prairie," Paige told her. "Is that Bethany? Wow, she's really big now! How old is she?"

"Sixteen months," Jo replied. They found their seats, and the service began.

"At this special time of the year when we celebrate the resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, we have another event to commemorate as well," Father Hanadarko began. "The parents of Prairie May Sanderson have brought her this morning to be christened."

Doug and Jo watched as Buck and Paige came forward with their daughter. As the christening began, Jo was swept back in time to Bethany's christening and, many years before that, Jamie's. The service wasn't quite finished when Bethany became restless and began squirming and Jo had to take her outside to walk around.

When they returned home, Clay and Jamie immediately began to dash to their rooms, but Jo stopped them. "Please, just let me get a picture first."

The family posed together on the porch steps, Doug and Clay looking very handsome in dark suits, Jamie lovely in a frilly dress and make-up, and Bethany holding a large pink stuffed rabbit. Jo snapped the photograph, then handed the camera to Doug so that he could take one of her with the children.

* * *

><p>"Are you all right?" Ralph's voice was shaky.<p>

"I think so," Natalie told him. "Are you?"

"My head really hurts." Ralph held his head in his hands.

The driver of the car that had hit them turned out to be a little old lady in her eighties. "I stepped on the accelerator instead of the brake by accident," she apologized. Ralph continued to hold his head for the entire time the policeman was there taking down the information.

"I think you'd better go to the hospital," Natalie told her husband. "You might have a concussion."

"Nah, I'm OK." Ralph winced.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah." They hadn't even made it back to the car, which was badly damaged but still drivable, when he began to throw up.

"I'm calling an ambulance," Natalie decided.


	58. Major Changes

"He has an concussion," the emergency room physician told Natalie. "It's only a mild one, but we'll need to keep him overnight for observation."

Natalie looked at her husband, who was lying back in bed in a hospital gown with his hands behind his head and a bemused expression on his face. "I guess I can live with that," he said.

"I'm just relieved it's not more serious." Natalie was disappointed that Ralph wouldn't be able to go home that day.

"You're the one I'm worried about," said Ralph. "Do you feel all right? You know you're supposed to go home and rest. I'll be OK here. Don't worry about me."

"I'll go home in a bit," Natalie replied. "I just want to make sure you're gonna be all right first."

Ralph smiled. Although he was concerned for the health of his wife and unborn child, he was happy at the prospect of enjoying Natalie's company for a couple of hours. She stayed at his side for a good part of the afternoon, then went home to rest. She debated whether or not to call any of his family members to tell them what had happened and then decided to leave it up to him.

The following morning she was alarmed to see that she'd bled into her panties overnight. She called Dr. Barber's office and spoke to his nurse. "It's nothing to worry about," the nurse assured her. "Sometimes that happens when the needle goes through the placenta."

Relieved, Natalie drove to the hospital to collect Ralph. "Does your head still hurt?" she asked him.

"Not at all. I'm good as new." He placed his hand on her abdomen. "Is everything all right with you and the little one?"

"We're fine."

"I say we blow this joint, then."

Ralph returned to his dry cleaning business, Natalie to her job, and everything was fine for several days, until one evening when Natalie heard the doorbell ring. She looked through the peep hole and saw that, to her dismay, her visitor was Claudia Petronski.

* * *

><p>"Thanks for a wonderful time," Blair told Travis as they kissed good-bye at the airport.<p>

"Thank you very much for coming," he replied. "I enjoyed our visit very much."

"See you soon," said Blair as she reluctantly let go of him. Flying back home alone, she wondered what Adam and Alyssa's reaction would be to the news that they would be moving to California. She remembered the dismay they'd expressed upon the move to Oklahoma City and had attributed it to, at least in part, their parents' divorce and the loss of the original family unit. Although they'd both adjusted reasonably well to the slower pace of life in the mid west, she'd been able to tell that neither one of them was really happy, and she knew that if she was honest with herself, neither was she. The souring of the relationship with Joe Hanadarko had been the last straw. Meeting and falling in love with Travis had been just the impetus she'd needed to make another major change in her life.

* * *

><p>"I don't believe it!" Jo exclaimed. "But you only just got here barely a year ago!"<p>

"I know, but Oklahoma City just isn't for me," Blair replied. "I know you enjoy things like fishing and camping yourself, and that's fine for you, but the pace here is just too slow for me, and after seeing Hollywood, I know I could never go back to it. I'm really sorry, but this is just something I have to do."

"But I'm gonna miss you so _much!" _Jo was near tears.

"I know, and I'm gonna miss you too. At least there's the internet, huh?"

"Yeah," Jo muttered. Depressed, she hung the telephone up. Doug, who was playing the little piggies with Bethany, glanced at her. "Blair's moving to California," she told him.

"That was sure fast! She met him less than six months ago, and already she's moving to be with him."

"She says the pace of life around here's too slow for her. I've always been able to tell she's not really happy here."

"Aw." Doug scooted closer to his wife on the sofa and gave her a comforting hug. "I know you're gonna miss her."

"Yeah. It was great having her here for awhile, though."

"Well, at least you've still got your friends here, and you'll make more."

"I know. Grace and Rhetta and the others are all nice, but they just can't quite take the place of the girls I went to high school with."

"I know the feelin'. I'm still pretty close to a couple of my old high school buddies, too." Doug wished that he could think of a way to cheer his wife up, but he just couldn't.

* * *

><p>"If you want something done right, you have to do it yourself," Claudia declared as she barged into the living room. "I can't have my son lying in the hospital with a concussion if there's anything I can do about it, can I? Never mind, darling, I'm here now, so nothing like that will ever happen again. Not to mention I have to make sure my grandson gets here safely, don't I?" She patted Natalie's belly for emphasis.<p>

"But Natalie wasn't even driving when it happened!" Ralph spluttered. "And besides, it was the other driver's fault. She stepped on the accelerator instead of the brake by mistake. There was nothing I could have done."

"Never mind about all that. I'm here now, and I'm staying until my grandson gets here safe and sound." Ralph and Natalie exchanged incredulous looks, and Ralph saw that there were tears in his wife's eyes.


	59. Lake Hefner

"I want you off your feet right away," Claudia told Natalie. "You've been under enough stress as it is, and that's not good for my grandson. Why don't you just relax in the recliner and watch TV, dear, and I'll finish cleaning up." Gratefully Natalie did as she'd been told, looking forward to several hours of relaxation before bedtime. Claudia loaded the dishwasher and turned it on, then cleared the table and wiped all the surfaces clean. Natalie was so tired that she fell asleep in the recliner watching television, and Ralph had to shake her awake to get ready for bed. Claudia planned to sleep on the sofa.

"I wish she'd at least let us know beforehand," Ralph said to his wife as they were cuddling together in bed that night. "I would have straightened up the house a little better."

"Seems to me she enjoys straightening up herself," Natalie chuckled.

"Does that bother you?" asked Ralph.

"So far it's been heaven."

Ralph chuckled. "Let's see if you still feel that way a week from now."

* * *

><p>"Have a safe trip." Jo hugged Blair's neck at the airport. "I'm sure gonna miss you."<p>

"I'm gonna miss you too, girlie." Blair hugged her back and kissed her cheek. "Keep in touch, OK?"

"Will do." Jo watched until her friend disappeared, then drove home feeling more and more depressed with each passing mile. She was in a pensive mood for the rest of the day.

"Blair get off OK?" Doug asked after he'd come home from work and kissed her hello.

"Yeah."

He saw that there were tears in her eyes. Gently he wiped them away with his thumbs and then winked at her. "I've got a surprise for you," he whispered. "I'll tell you later."

"Oh, I love surprises!" She smiled for the first time since coming home from the airport.

Nothing more was said about it until they were getting into bed that night. "Remember that surprise I was talkin' about earlier?" asked Doug.

"That's right. You _did _promise me a surprise, didn't you?"

"Indeed I did. Guess where we're goin' this weekend?"

"Where?"

"Ever been sailin' on Lake Hefner before?"

"No..."

"Girl, you're in for a treat!"

"Wow!" Jo laughed and gave him a hug. "But what about Bethany?"

"I already took care of that. Grace is gonna keep her for us."

That Friday evening, they drove Bethany to Grace's house. "Be a good girl for Aunty Grace," Jo told her daughter as she kissed her cheek and handed her to Grace. Bethany primped up to cry, and Jo immediately felt guilty.

"We're gonna have lots of fun together, Bethy," said Grace. "Look what I've got for you! Animal crackers! Your big brother used to love these when he was your age!" She picked up a cookie that was in the shape of a bear and made growling noises. Bethany giggled as her parents sneaked quietly away.

They left the house at the crack of dawn the following morning. The sun was just rising over the lake as they arrived, bathing the scene in brilliant hues of pink and purple and orange. "It's beautiful!" Jo gasped. Doug grinned as he took her hand, and they headed for the boat rental office. Thirty minutes later, they were floating lazily on the lake.

"Now, _this _is the way to relax." Doug lay back with his hands behind his head and closed his eyes.

"Yeah." Jo did the same. They spent most of that day on the lake, and later took a tour of the lighthouse. They went up the winding staircase, stopping briefly to look at all the interesting items on the wall, until at last they reached the small room at the top that contained the giant beacon. "Whew! I don't think I've ever climbed so many steps in my life!" Jo laughed.

"It's worth it though, isn't it?" Doug remarked. "Just look at the view from up here!"

"Oh, wow! It's gorgeous!" Jo agreed. As she stood with her husband, their arms around one another, desire flooded her, and she turned to him and gave him an open-mouthed kiss.

"Later, babe," he chuckled.

Next they went biking around the lake, and then Doug built a fire and they cooked hot dogs and beans. After the sun had set, they set up the tent and prepared for bed. "Now where did we leave off in the lighthouse?" Doug began to kiss his wife passionately.

"You _did _remember to bring protection, didn't you?" asked Jo.

"Of course I did!" He took the condom from his pocket and showed it to her. Soon they were both naked and, lying atop the sleeping bag, began to make love. Doug cried out as he found release, but groaned in dismay a moment later. "Oh, no!"

"What is it?" Jo asked anxiously.

"The thing broke," Doug said sheepishly.

"You're kidding!" That had never happened to them before.

"No, I'm not."

Jo sighed. "Great. Now I might be pregnant again."

"Is it the time of month when that might happen?"

"I don't know!" Jo had to admit to herself that she didn't keep up with her monthly cycle as well as she should.

"Oh...well, it'll probably be all right."

Jo knew she'd be holding her breath until her next period started. "I ought to go on the Pill. I can now. I quit nursing Bethany months ago."

"Yeah, that would be a good idea. So, what did you want to do first today?" He was in a hurry to change the subject as he didn't want to think about it anymore.

They went fishing that morning, had lunch at a nearby seafood buffet, then drove back to Grace's to pick Bethany up. The little girl was taking a nap when they arrived, so they stayed and visited with Grace for awhile. "Has she been good all weekend?" asked Jo.

"She was a regular little angel," Grace replied. "If I were you, I wouldn't mind having two or three more just like her."

Jo and Doug exchanged glances. Neither of them smiled.


	60. Clay's High School Graduation

Natalie grabbed the receiver on the second ring. "Hello?"

"Mrs. Petronski? This is Tonya from Dr. Barber's office," said the voice on the other end of the line. "The results of your amniocentesis are back. Everything's perfectly normal, and I can also tell you your baby's gender if you want to know."

"Oh, yes!" Natalie exclaimed.

"It's a little boy." Claudia and Ralph will be thrilled, Natalie thought. She called her husband right away.

"Guess what!" she exclaimed when she heard her husband's voice. "I just got the results of the amniocentesis back!"

"Is everything all right?"

"Everything's fine! And...it's a boy!"

"Well!" Ralph laughed. "Mom will certainly be glad to hear that!"

"I thought you wanted a boy, too."

"Well, yeah, that _is _nice, but the most important thing is that he's healthy."

By the time Natalie got home that evening, Ralph had already shared the news with Claudia. "I was so relieved to hear that little Stanley's all right!" she exclaimed.

Natalie grimaced at her husband. Little Stanley? "Of course he is, Mom." Later, he mouthed to his wife.

"I was so worried! Natalie's so old to be having her first, you know," Claudia continued.

"Lots of women her age and even older are having babies these days," Ralph pointed out.

"I know, and just look at all the Mongoloids being born!" Claudia replied.

"We would have loved our child even if there had been something wrong with him," Ralph told his mother.

"I know you would have, dear, but isn't it so good that there isn't? Little Stanley's just as perfect as his Daddy." Claudia patted her daughter-in-law's belly. Natalie rolled her eyes and Ralph grinned, but his expression quickly turned sober when he saw that his mother was looking at him.

That night Natalie was staring at the ceiling deep in thought when Ralph joined her in bed. "We are _not _going to name our son Stanley!" she stated.

Ralph sighed. "It's important to her that he's named after my Dad. Just humor her, OK? Stanley can be his middle name, and we can choose something else as his first name."

"I'm not sure if I'd even want it as his middle name. I'm sorry, Ralph, but I just really don't care for the name Stanley."

"I'm not crazy about it either, but look at it this way. It would go a long way toward getting my Mom on your side, and that's something we both want, isn't it?"

Natalie looked thoughtful. "Well...maybe Luke Stanley wouldn't sound so bad."

Ralph grinned. "I like that!"

* * *

><p>Jo was all smiles as she greeted Doug after work one evening. "What's the occasion?' he asked.<p>

"I got my period today!"

He chuckled. "First time I've ever seen you happy about _that."_

"Remember what happened when we were camping at Lake Hefner?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah!" He laughed and winked at her and swatted her bottom.

Clay graduated high school the first week of June. Jo and Doug drove him to the civic center early so that he could join his classmates in preparing for the ceremony. Then they found seats on the bleachers and sat down to wait. As time passed, many of Clay's other relatives arrived. Paige and Buck came with baby Prairie, as did Grace, her mother, her brothers, and her niece Sayre. Doug and Grace greeted one another warmly. "His mother would have been so proud of him," Grace remarked.

"I know," Doug replied. "I've been sittin' here thinkin' the same thing." He squeezed Jo's hand.

"Gay-Gay." Bethany patted Grace's leg.

"Hey there, darlin'," said Grace. "So is he still plannin' to go to the Police Academy?" she asked Doug.

"Yep."

"I know he'll make a great police officer."

"Oh, I agree!"

Jo's heart swelled with pride as she watched her stepson receive his diploma. She glanced over at Doug and saw that he was beaming. At last the ceremony ended, and all the graduates threw their caps into the air. Then it was a mad dash to find Clay amongst the other graduates.

"I love you, son." Doug's voice cracked just a little bit as he hugged his son.

"I'm so proud of you!" Jo exclaimed when her turn came. "You've turned out to be such a fine young man. I'm so glad you're in my family."

"Thank you," Clay said shyly.

Doug took the entire family out to one of the finest restaurants in the area to celebrate. Clay teased Jamie about still having three more years to go before she graduated herself, and she stuck her tongue out at him.

"That was such a beautiful ceremony! I almost cried," Jo said to Doug later, when they were alone.

"Me too," Doug admitted.

"I do have to say, you did a really awesome job of raising him. I know you did it mostly alone."

"Aw." He hugged her and kissed the top of her head. "You deserve some of the credit too, y'know."

"But I've only known him for the past couple of years," Jo pointed out.

"That don't matter none. I can see how big of an influence you've had on him, and I can't tell you how much I appreciate it. You're a great Mom."

Deeply touched, Jo clung to him, unable to say a word.


	61. Complications

The summer passed quickly for the Normans but crept slowly for the Petronskis. No matter what Natalie did, Claudia was always there to offer advice, whether she wanted it or not. Once that resulted in a blazing argument about Natalie's job. "My Ralph makes an excellent living," Claudia stated. "There's no reason at all why you couldn't simply quit your job and stay home and take care of yourself and my grandson."

"It's not like I'm performing heavy physical labor," Natalie argued. "Dr. Barber says as long as there's no complications, there's no reason I can't keep working right up until my due date."

"But why, if you don't absolutely have to? You just care more about your own selfish wants than what's best for your baby. That's exactly what it is. As long as you're doing what you want, you don't care who suffers in the long run, even if it's your poor little innocent baby."

"That's not true!" Natalie was practically shouting. "I'd give up working in a heartbeat if Dr. Barber told me to, but so far, he hasn't."

"That doctor don't know his ass from a hole in the ground," Claudia muttered.

"Can't you do something about her?" Natalie asked her husband later, when they were alone.

"What did she do now?" asked Ralph.

Natalie relayed her earlier conversation with Claudia.

"Hon, she's only concerned about you and the baby. You know as well as I do that it's a high risk pregnancy, and she wants it to have the best outcome possible."

"Well, I resent her trying to make me feel guilty because I'm still working. I wish you'd talk to her about it."

"I will, Nat, but in the meantime, please try to be more patient, OK? This won't last forever, you know."

Natalie sighed. "I'll try."

In August she had an abnormally high result on a glucose test and had to go to the lab fasting and stay there five hours without eating anything while having blood drawn every hour. Claudia elected herself to go along as well, ostensibly to provide moral support, although Natalie suspected that it was really that her mother-in-law didn't trust her to stay away from the snack machines.

She arrived first thing in the morning for the first blood test. With some difficulty, the nurse located a vein and inserted an IV port, for which Natalie was profoundly thankful. The waiting room in which she was told to sit afterwards was immaculate and cheerfully decorated, with tables upon which stacks of magazines were stacked. Natalie decided to call her mother.

"I'm here at the lab," she told Mrs. Green. "They think I might have gestational diabetes, so they're doing a bunch of blood tests. I had to come in fasting, and I can't eat anything until all the blood tests are over."

"You must be starving!" Mrs. Green exclaimed. "Well, I sure hope everything turns out all right!"

"Thanks. I hope so, too."

She made several trips to the water cooler for ice water, which she greedily gulped, and spent the rest of the time reading magazines and trying to nap in between blood tests. At last the final test was over and she could leave the lab. "You've been such a good girl," Claudia told her. "I'm going to treat you to lunch. Where would you like to go?"

Natalie suggested a nearby diner. She was so famished that she almost choked on her hamburger.

* * *

><p>In September, Dr. Barber's nurse frowned as she took Natalie's blood pressure. "One thirty over eighty-nine," she said. "That's a little high."<p>

"You're in danger of going into pre-eclampsia." Dr. Barber's voice was grave as he addressed Natalie. "I'm placing you on complete bed rest for the remainder of the pregnancy. If we can't get your blood pressure under control, we may have to deliver early."

"But I'm not due for over a month!" Natalie protested.

"Nevertheless, we can't run the risk of your going into seizures or having a stroke," Dr. Barber replied. "I'm sorry, but you're going to have to take a leave of absence from your job and get someone else to do all your housework. You can only get out of bed for necessary things like doctor visits."

Natalie left his office feeling very dejected. The thought of lying in bed for a month with Claudia hovering over her almost every second was just about more than she could bear. After making arrangements for an indeterminate leave of absence from her job, she went home and went to bed to wait for Ralph to get home from work. When he finally arrived, she thought she'd never been so glad to see him.

"I'm on strict bed rest," she told him. "My blood pressure's too high, and Dr. Barber's afraid I'm going into pre-eclampsia. I had to take a leave of absence from my job."

"I'm sorry." Ralph went to her and gently embraced her, stroking her gently rounded belly. "I sure hope they can get it under control soon."

"I hope so too." She wondered how on earth she'd keep her mind occupied during the long weeks ahead.


	62. Boy Trouble

"Aren't you coming to the game tonight?" Jamie asked Clay.

He shrugged. "Might as well, I guess."

"We might win the state championship this year! Don't you even care at all?"

"I'm not really into all that high school stuff so much anymore, Jamie. I'm into cop stuff now."

Jamie stuck her tongue out at him, and Doug laughed. "Just between you and me, he really _does _still care," he whispered to his stepdaughter.

The family left for the football game, Clay following the others in his used Toyota. Less than five minutes after they arrived, Jamie spied Hunter sitting alone high up in the bleachers and eagerly climbed up to join him. "Hi, Hunter!" she exclaimed.

Hunter nodded. "Jamie."

In the presence of her crush object, Jamie suddenly found herself tongue-tied. She simply couldn't think of a single thing to say to the boy whom she'd always thought of as 'gorgeous.' "I'll bet there will be a big turn-out tonight," she finally remarked.

"Of course there will be," Hunter replied. "At the rate our team's going, they're gonna win the state championship this year."

"I sure hope they win it!"

"So do I." An uneasy silence fell over the two again as Jamie struggled desperately to come up with another topic of conversation. "I love fall," she finally said. "I think it's my favorite season. I just love watching the leaves change colors and fall from the trees."

"Yeah, it's nice." Hunter sounded bored.

Just then two thing happened almost simultaneously. The band started playing the school song, and Taylor approached them with an eager smile on her face. "Hey, babe!" said Hunter. He stood and kissed Taylor's lips. "Hey, Jamie, scoot over, will ya?"

Tears filled the teenager's eyes as she dashed back to where Doug and Jo were sitting with Bethany. "Hey, sweetie. What's wrong?" asked Doug. Jamie just shook her head, unable to speak.

She managed to keep her composure until the game was over. Oklahoma High won the game, and as the Normans walked to their car, Jamie was the only one with a long face. "I _hate _Taylor!" she exploded as soon as they were inside the car.

"My gosh, what happened?" asked Jo.

"She and Hunter are together now!" Jamie crossed her arms and glared at the back of the seat in front of her.

"I'm sorry, honey," said Jo.

"I'm never speaking to her again!"

Doug laughed. "Boy trouble, huh?"

"It's not one bit funny!" Jamie spat. None of the family said anything about it for the rest of the journey home. Jo and Doug made small talk about the game, and when they were finally home, Jamie marched into her room and slammed the door hard.

"Whew!" Doug chuckled. "I think she's just a little upset!"

"I know how she feels," Jo said quietly. "One time Blair and I both liked the same guy, and it really hurt when he asked her out instead of me. Later, she found out he was dating another girl at the same time and broke up with him."

"Sounds like you turned out to be the lucky one, after all."

"Yeah. I just hope Jamie will be OK. She's had a crush on Hunter for a long time. Since middle school, I believe."

"She'll be fine. I eventually got over Patty, and she'll get over Hunter, too."

* * *

><p>Monday morning, Jamie was on her way to her first class of the day when she saw Hunter and Taylor walking toward her, holding hands. "Hi, Jamie!" Taylor squealed. Jamie said nothing and pointedly looked away.<p>

All morning long, she could barely concentrate on her classes. In her mind, she kept replaying the stab of pain she'd felt in her heart when she'd seen Hunter and Taylor walking together. And I thought she was my friend! she stewed.

At lunch she sat in the corner of the cafeteria, hoping Taylor wouldn't see her. "Hey," said an unfamiliar voice. Jamie looked up into the darkest brown eyes she'd ever seen and realized that they belonged to a very nice-looking young man. Nicer looking than Hunter, even. "Why so glum?" he asked.

"I just lost my best friend." She hoped he wouldn't ask for any additional details.

"Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry!" he exclaimed. "By the way, my name's Drew. My family just moved here over the summer, so I don't know too many kids here yet."

"Nice to meet you! My name's Jamie." She smiled and offered him her hand, and he shook it. "We moved here three years ago from New York."

"What's that like? I've never been before, but I've always been curious about it."

"It's awesome! Really different from around here. A lot busier and noisier, too."

"I'll bet!"

As she became deeply absorbed in conversation with her new friend, Jamie forgot all about Taylor and Hunter.


	63. Natalie Gives Birth

"Your blood pressure's still too high." Dr. Barber's nurse frowned as she removed the cuff from Natalie's arm. She led the expectant mother into the examination room, where she undressed and waited for the physician's arrival.

He entered in a huff. "Your blood pressure's elevated, and there's also protein in your urine. I'm going to have to deliver you right away."

"But are you sure the baby's ready to come?" Natalie's voice shook.

Dr. Barber shook his head. "We'll just have to take that chance. I'm admitting you to the hospital and starting a Pitocin drip right away."

"Can't I at least call my husband first?"

"Of course you can!"

Natalie quickly called the dry cleaner's and spoke to Heidi, who told her that Ralph was running an errand but she'd let him know what was going on as soon as he returned. Disappointed, Natalie realized that she had no choice but to acquiesce to the doctor's orders. Once inside her hospital room, she was told to strip and don a flimsy gown with ties in the back, one of which had broken. She'd barely finished doing that when the nurse reappeared to insert the IV into her arm.

She'd been lying in bed staring at the ceiling for about half an hour when Ralph burst into the room with Claudia right behind him. "Natalie!" He embraced his wife. "I came as soon as Heidi told me. Are you all right?"

"I guess so. Just kind of scared, that's all."

"Everything's gonna be all right." He began to rub her back.

"I told you something like this would happen," Claudia whinged. "But did you listen to me? Do you _ever _listen to me?"

"Shut up, Mom," Ralph hissed.

"Humph." Claudia turned and stalked out of the room. Natalie heaved a big sigh of relief.

Ralph took a seat beside his wife's bed. "So, how long do you suppose this is gonna take?"

"Dr. Barber says first deliveries usually take a lot longer."

"How long is 'longer'?"

Natalie shook her head. After several hours of absolutely nothing happening, the nurse entered the room and switched off Natalie's Pitocin drip. "We'll try again in the morning," she promised.

"Good night, sweetheart." Ralph kissed his wife good-bye. "I'll come in the morning as soon as I can."

To Natalie's surprise, she slept like a log that night, and the following morning, the nurse returned to resume the Pitocin drip, as promised. After Natalie had a few sluggish contractions, she increased the dosage, and the next contraction went off the charts.

After that, everything seemed a blur. Vaguely Natalie was aware of her husband entering the room, of his hand on her arm as he encouraged her through wave after wave of the worst pain she'd ever experienced in her life. At last she heard Dr. Barber's voice telling her to push. She pushed and pushed, and after what seemed like an eternity, felt a burning sensation followed by a release. "It's a boy!" Dr. Barber exclaimed.

"He looks just like you, Ralph!" Natalie was appalled to hear Claudia's voice. How dare her mother-in-law intrude, uninvited, on one of the most intimate events of her life! Although possibly not uninvited, after all, the younger woman thought miserably. Ralph may well have invited his mother there himself.

Yet at this moment, as she watched her newborn son being cleaned, weighed, dressed, and wrapped in a blanket, how could she feel anything but pure ecstasy?A nurse handed baby Luke to Ralph, who in turn handed him to Natalie. "You did great, hon." She saw that there were tears in his eyes.

As she took the warm little bundle into her arms, Natalie felt an overwhelming love, such as she'd never experienced before. At that instant, it seemed to her as though she and her new son were the only people in the world. She slipped her pinky into his tiny fist, marveling at the velvety softness of his skin.

"Hi, Luke," she said. "Welcome to the world." The infant opened his smoky blue eyes and gazed into hers. She smiled at Ralph. "He's beautiful."

"He's perfect," Ralph agreed.

"Oh, let me hold him!" Claudia exclaimed. With reluctance, Natalie handed Luke to his father, who in turn handed him to his grandmother. "Oh, Stanley, aren't you a little dearie! Your father all over again!"

"His name's Luke, Mom," said Ralph.

"Oh, no, you're Stanley, aren't you, sweetie? I can't wait for your aunts and cousins to meet you!"

Ralph looked at his wife to see that she was no longer smiling.

* * *

><p>"How could you have done that?" Natalie's eyes blazed. "How could you have let her watch?"<p>

Ralph shrugged helplessly. "I honestly thought you wouldn't mind, Nat. She's been there for every other important thing that's ever happened to me."

"So you just assumed that I wouldn't mind her seeing me naked? Is that what you thought?"

Ralph heaved a heavy sigh. "I swear to you, Nat, if I'd known how much it was gonna bother you, I would have told her no..."

"Oh, would you have? Really?"

He could tell by the tone in her voice that she didn't believe him.


	64. Dream Come True

"Please, Natalie, don't be mad! This is the most important day of our lives!"

Natalie didn't say anything for a long moment, and then the edges of her lips began to curl up into a smile. "Well...all right, but only because of that."

Tootie came to visit Natalie and her new son the following day. "Aw, he's precious!" she exclaimed. "So did everything go OK?"

Natalie and Ralph exchanged glances. "It went fine," Natalie told her friend. "How's Tisha?"

"She's fine! Still doing well in high school. She wants to be an actress when she graduates."

Later Mrs. Garrett called from New York city. "I'm so happy for you, dear," she told Natalie. "I wish my health was such that I could come see you and your new little one, but as it is, I'll just have to be content with sending my good wishes instead."

"I'm so glad you called," Natalie replied. "I always love to hear from you. I'll have some photographs posted online soon."

Later Jo called. "Congratulations, Mommy!" she exclaimed. "So how does it feel?"

"Right now it's pretty painful. My stitches are killing me!"

"Well, that comes with the territory. I've been there twice myself. So, tell me about your new son!"

"He's adorable! He looks just like Ralph! He makes the cutest little grimaces, and he loves to suck his fist. I'm gonna put some photographs online soon."

"Can't wait to see them!"

Much later, Blair came to visit. "Congratulations, girl!" she exclaimed. "I just looked in the nursery window. He's the most beautiful baby there many times over!"

"Thanks!" Natalie replied. "So how's it going with Travis?"

"Great! The kids and I love living in California, and his girls are the best!"

"I'm glad you're all getting along so well," said Natalie.

"Yeah. We're kind of like the Brady bunch, huh?"

"You would be if you had a couple more kids!"

"Oh, no. This baby factory's permanently closed. I got my tubes tied right after Alyssa was born."

Natalie and Luke were discharged from the hospital the following day. Natalie found that caring for a newborn was much more difficult than she'd anticipated, and for the first time, she was grateful for Claudia's presence. Breastfeeding was both painful and time consuming, and since Ralph still had to work full-time at the dry cleaners, the apartment would have become dirty and cluttered and they would have had to eat cold sandwiches for dinner every night if not for her mother-in-law.

Claudia's entire demeanor toward Natalie had radically changed since Luke's birth. Having provided her with a healthy Petronski grandson seemed to have elevated the younger woman's status immeasurably in the older one's eyes. She insisted that Natalie do nothing but rest and take care of Luke, and Natalie spent many hours lying on the divan, feeding her son and watching television. Claudia cooked a hot, delicious meal for the three of them every evening, and Natalie came to enjoy being pampered and waited on.

The royal treatment ended after Natalie's six-week postpartum doctor's visit when Claudia flew back to New York, but a month later, she returned for the holiday season with Jeanette, her husband Clark, and their twelve-year-old son, Connor. "It's great to see you again!" Jeanette gave her sister-in-law a hug. They hadn't seen one another since Natalie had left New York after Ralph's aunt's funeral. "And little Luke is so sweet! Come meet your new cousin, Connor!"

With a nonchalant shrug, the young man walked over to look at the baby. "Isn't he precious?" Jeanette enthused.

"He's all right," Connor muttered. "So when are we going to Disneyland?"

"I promise, Connor, we'll go before we return to New York," Jeanette snapped. "Right now, it wouldn't kill you to at least _act _interested in your new relatives."

"Want to go for a ride through Beverly Hills and see where all the movie stars live?" Clark asked his son.

"Sure!" Connor exclaimed.

Luke began to cry. "Yep, it's his diaper, all right," Natalie announced after a quick peek.

"This reminds me so much of when Connor was a baby," Jeanette told her sister-in-law as Natalie changed her son's diaper. "I took off work for about a year after he was born. My entire family was shocked. They knew how devoted I was to my career, and they were surprised that I even wanted a baby at all. After he was born, they expected me to take six weeks off tops, but every time I looked at that little face, I thought, what's the hurry?"

"I haven't decided yet when I'll go back to my job," Natalie replied. "I'd like to keep nursing for as long as I can. I'm thinking perhaps after Luke's old enough to eat solid food."

"This means a lot to my Mom, you know," said Jeanette. "For many years she's been wanting Ralph to marry and have a son. You've just made her fondest dream come true."

"Ralph and I didn't really care whether it was a boy or a girl, as long as it was healthy." Natalie wasn't quite sure how to respond. Although she appreciated Claudia's help, the thought that she was valued strictly as the receptacle for the realization of her mother-in-law's dream made her feel unsettled. "I was grateful that I was able to get pregnant at all at my age."

Jeanette didn't say anything, thinking of the many tirades her mother had had on the subject of Natalie's age.


	65. Party Invitation

"Man, I wish we could watch 'Hyde Park On Hudson'," Jamie muttered.

"'Cheerful Weather For the Wedding' is all right," Staci replied.

"It sucks to be fifteen," Jamie complained. "We can't get in to see the really cool movies, but we have to pay full price for the kiddie ones."

Staci laughed. "I wouldn't exactly call 'Cheerful Wedding' a kiddie movie."

"It's not as cool as 'Hyde Park on Hudson'."

The girls bought their tickets, then went to the snack bar for popcorn and soft drinks and entered the theater. The movie had barely begun when Staci left to go to the restroom. "There's no usher outside the entrance to 'Hyde Park'," she whispered to Jamie when she returned. Giggling, the two girls sneaked out of one theater and dashed to another before anyone could see them.

Mesmerized by the movie she was legally forbidden to see, Jamie was startled when the credits began to roll. She and Staci left the building and walked to Staci's mother's car. "So, how did the movie go?" asked Staci's mother, Lori.

"Great!" Staci replied.

"Ad how did you like it, Jamie?" Lori continued.

"It was all right." Jamie did her best to sound nonchalant. All the way home, she hoped her mother wouldn't ask her anything specific about the movie. She knew Jo would probably be upset if she knew what movie she'd really watched.

"Thanks for the ride," she said when Lori dropped her off.

"Sure, any time," Lori replied.

"See you in school Monday," Staci added.

"See ya." Doug and Jo were watching television together when Jamie entered the house.

"Taylor called," Jo told her daughter as Jamie headed for her bedroom.

"OK." Jamie had no intention of returning her former friend's call, as she was still bitter at Taylor because of the incident with Hunter.

The following Wednesday, Jamie was on her way to the cafeteria for lunch with the rest of her class when Staci approached her with a couple of older girls, Delaney and Brianna. "Come on," Staci told Jamie. "Delaney has coupons for McDonald's."

Jamie knew that it was against the rules to leave the campus during school hours without being checked out by an adult, but McDonald's sounded so much better than typical cafeteria food that Jamie needed no further persuasion. Delaney sped to McDonald's, and soon the four girls were sitting in a booth, enjoying their meals. "You're all coming to the party Saturday night, right?" Delaney asked the others as they were eating.

"What party?" asked Jamie.

"I'm having a party at my house this coming Saturday night," Delaney explained. "My folks are gonna be out of town, so things are probably gonna get pretty wild!"

"Are there gonna be guys there?" asked Staci.

"You bet!"

"Count me in, then!" Staci turned to Jamie. "How about you, Jamie? Just tell your folks you're spending the night with me. Brianna can pick us up after your Mom drops you off at my place."

"Sure!" Jamie wasn't about to let the other three girls see her apprehension.

After their hurried meal, the four girls returned to Delaney's car. They were about five minutes away from the school when the driver of the car in front of them slammed on brakes and Delaney smashed right into it, the front of her own car crumpling like a piece of paper. "Oh, shit!" Delaney screamed. "My Dad's gonna kill me!"

The middle-aged woman who'd slammed on brakes in front of them got out of her own car and walked toward them. Delaney opened her own door. "I'm so very sorry, ma'am," she said in her most penitent-sounding voice.

"Are any of you hurt?" The woman looked from one girl to another. They all shook their heads, then walked around to look at the damage and were amazed to see that the woman's car didn't seem to have a scratch.

"Well, if you're OK and your car's OK, I guess we may as well just go our ways," Delaney remarked.

"We'll do nothing of the sort." The woman's lips formed a tight line of determination. "None of us are going anywhere until the police get here."

"But I'm gonna be late for my next class!" Brianna whined.

"That doesn't matter."

The policeman arrived and took down the information from both the woman and Delaney, wrote Delaney a ticket for careless driving, and then left. "Now he's _really _gonna kill me!" she groaned.

"Let's just see if this thing still drives so we can get back to class," said Brianna.

Luckily it did, so Delaney drove back to the school, where Jamie discovered that she was thirty minutes late for her first class after lunch. She decided that, rather than going to class late, she'd hide in the restroom until the bell rang for her next class.

The remainder of the day passed uneventfully, and Jamie rode the bus home like she would any other day. Jo was working at the computer when her daughter entered the house. She looked up. "Hi, Jamie."

"Hi, Mom." Jamie sat her backpack down. "Can I spend the night with Staci this coming Saturday night?"

Jo frowned. "You've been spending an awful lot of time with her lately. When was the last time you did something with Taylor?"

"Aw, she's too busy with _Hunter _now." Jamie scowled. "Can I please go to Staci's?"

Jo sighed. "I suppose you can, if it's that important to you."

"Thanks, Mom!" Even if her parents aren't gonna be there, it'll still be OK, Jamie told herself as she continued on her way to her room. After all, what could happen?


	66. Caught

"Here they come!" Staci nudged Jamie excitedly as the red Toyota pulled up into the driveway. They both squealed and jumped up and down.

"You girls have fun!" Lori called from the kitchen as they dashed out to the car.

"Any problem getting your parents to let you go?" asked Brianna, who was driving.

"Nah, they pretty much let me do whatever I want," Staci replied.

"I told my Mom I was spending the night with Staci," said Jamie.

"Good deal!" Brianna enthused. "So are you guys ready to par-tay?"

"Yeah!" Staci and Jamie shouted.

A few minutes later, the car pulled up in front of Delaney's large brick house. _It's sure a lot nicer than our house, _Jamie thought. Brianna parked the car, and the girls walked to the porch and rang the doorbell. Delaney appeared a moment later, dressed in tight leopard skin pants and a big shapeless sweater. She was eating a slice of pizza. "Come on in," she said. "Everybody's downstairs."

Brianna, Staci and Jamie followed her downstairs. Her parents had turned the basement into a rec room featuring a pool table and exercise equipment. There were also a couple of sagging sofas, upon which several couples sat necking, and a few chairs. Someone was passing a joint around.

"Come on in and make yourselves comfortable," Delaney told her guests, then disappeared into a knot of college-aged kids. Jamie took a soft drink from the selection on the folding table and sat down. She looked around to see if she knew any of the kids there and found that she didn't. Hip-hop music blared loudly from a stereo. A shaggy-looking boy who was at least a couple of years older than her sidled up to her.

"Hey, wanna dance?"

She shrugged and joined him on the floor, where a group of tipsy teens were dancing, or attempting to, at least. "I'm Jamie," she offered.

"Spike." He grinned. "Cool party, huh?"

"I guess so. I just got here."

"So how old are you? About sixteen?"

"I was on my last birthday," she lied.

"All right!" His eyes looked her up and down in appreciation. "You look real good. Say, would you like a drink?"

"I've got a Pepsi..."

He snorted his derision. "Aw, come on, cutie. I mean a _real _drink." He walked to the bar and returned about five minutes later. "Here ya go, darlin'. Drink up!"

She raised the glass to her lips, but before she could take a single swallow, it was snatched from her. "Come on. I'm takin' you home," said Earl as he grabbed her arm and pulled her toward the stairway.

"Hey! How did _you _get in here?" she demanded. He didn't respond as he led her back up the stairs and then out of the house. "This isn't exactly cool, y'know," she complained. "What's Mom gonna say? She thinks I'm spending the night with Staci!"

"You'll just have to talk that over with her," he replied. "The important thing is that we need to get out of here right now."

"But _why? _I was having fun!"

He didn't respond until they were in the car and on the way home. "That drink had Rohypnol in it."

"What the heck is _that?"_

"Something you would have deeply regretted drinking."

"I don't believe you. That guy seemed perfectly nice to me."

"That's why it's such a good thing I showed up when I did."

A moment later, they were pulling up in front of the Norman home. The teenager sulked as she plodded along behind Earl. Jo met them at the door, dressed in her pajamas. "Oh my God, what happened?"

"I just saved your daughter from making a huge mistake," Earl told her before vanishing.

Jo's eyes narrowed in suspicion. "What was going on at Staci's?"

"I wasn't at Staci's." Jamie was too startled and traumatized to think of a believable lie. "I...Staci and I went to a party at Delaney's."

"And why wasn't I told about this party?" Jo's eyes blazed with anger.

Jamie stared at the floor, shuffling her feet. "Her parents were out of town," she mumbled.

"So you lied to me."

Jamie nodded, still staring at the floor.

Jo was so angry she didn't know what to do. "You're grounded for a month," she hissed through her teeth. "That means straight home from school every day, no laptop, no cell phone, and no television. You can do your homework and read. I'll discuss this with your father and see whether he thinks that's enough or if more should be done."

"For a whole _month?" _Jamie couldn't believe her ears.

"That's right. We trusted you to be truthful with us, and you violated that trust. I think you need to spend some time just thinking about how serious that is."

Jamie sank to the bed in dismay. "My life is _over!" _she groaned.


	67. A Bad Influence

"What's going on?" Doug asked his wife as she stalked back into the living room, her eyes still blazing.

"She _lied _to me!" Jo spat. "She told me she was spending the night with Staci when she really went to a party at the house of someone named Delaney, whose parents are away for the weekend."

"I've always suspected that Staci was gonna turn out to be a bad influence on her," Doug replied. "I didn't say anything because I thought that perhaps it wasn't my place to." He was thinking of the unfortunate events of the previous summer.

"It's a shame she and Taylor fell out," said Jo. "They were such good friends for so long. And all over a _boy."_

Doug laughed. "Seems pretty typical to me. So what happened?"

"I grounded her for a month. No cell phone, no internet, no television, and no going out."

Doug gave a low whistle.

"Do you think that was too harsh?" Jo had begun to doubt her decision.

"It'll definitely give her some time to think about what she did. Maybe she'll make wiser decisions in the future. The important thing is that she's safe."

"It's scary to think she'll legally be an adult in less than three years. She'll be a lot more independent then." Jo shuddered. "I remember what I was like when _I _was eighteen. Sometimes I wonder how in the world I ever survived."

"But you _did _survive." Doug chuckled as he gave his wife a comforting embrace. "And so will Jamie. It's only natural to worry, but she'll be fine."

Just then Bethany toddled over to her mother, gave her a big, toothy grin, and plopped her favorite book, the Gingerbread Man, down in her mother's lap. "At least we've got a few more years before we have to start worrying about _you," _Jo laughed as she lifted the toddler up into her lap.

* * *

><p>The following morning, Doug noticed an article in the newspaper that caught his interest. "Says here the police were called to the scene of a wild party that got out of control," he told Jo as she was retrieving a piece of toast Bethany had dropped. "Says they found drugs, underage drinking, and suspected sexual assault. Several people were arrested. A couple of them were juveniles so it doesn't give their names, but one was an eighteen-year-old known as 'Spike'."<p>

The sound of the name was like a bolt of lightening going through Jamie. She was so startled that she forgot where she was. "That was the guy who asked me to dance with him!" she blurted out.

Jo gaped at her daughter.

"He tried to give me a drink," Jamie continued. "That was when Earl showed up. He snatched the drink away from me and drug me away from the party." Her voice quivered just a little. "What was Spike arrested for?"

"Possession of a date rape drug."

"Oh. My. God." Suddenly feeling sick, Jamie dashed for the bathroom.

"I think that was even worse punishment than being grounded," Doug said to his wife in a low voice.

"I think it would be a good idea to discourage this friendship with Staci," Jo replied.

"I think you're absolutely right."

Jamie returned to the table a few minutes later. "Are you all right?" Jo asked her.

"Yeah. It was a false alarm."

"Honey, your father and I have talked it over and decided that perhaps you should stop hanging out with Staci."

Jamie snorted. "Since I'm grounded, I can't hang out with anyone anyway."

"You know what I mean. Perhaps you could find another girl or group of girls to eat lunch with at school."

"Oh yeah, there's just gobs of friendless kids roaming the school begging somebody to be nice to them." Jamie's voice dripped with sarcasm.

"Well, you never know," said Jo.

Jamie returned to school on Monday to a flurry of excitement. "What's going on?" she asked a classmate, Riley.

"Delaney got arrested!" Riley told her. "Her Dad had to bail her out of juvie. Boy, is he pissed!"

"I'll bet!"

Jamie joined the flow of students entering the school building, wondering what to do about Staci. Should she shun the other girl, as her mother had suggested? After all, if she'd never met Staci, she never would have gone to Delaney's party. Yet was one lousy party worth throwing away an entire friendship? She just didn't know.

At lunchtime, she purposely chose a seat on the opposite end of the cafeteria from where she usually sat. She had to think.

She was able to avoid running into Staci until it was time to walk out to the bus stop, when she heard someone calling to her and turned to face the other girl. "So what do you think about Delaney?" asked Staci.

Jamie shrugged. "I guess she had it coming to her."

Staci frowned. "What did she ever do to you?"

"You mean you think what happened was OK?"

"I think it was a great party. Sucks that the cops had to show up when they did."

"I'm grounded for a month, Staci. No telephone, no internet, and no going out."

"Aw, that's too bad. I didn't get in any trouble at all. Well, see you in a month!" Staci skipped ahead, leaving Jamie alone with her thoughts.

Somehow she survived the month of being grounded and was genuinely surprised when Taylor approached her a couple of weeks later. "Jamie! It's been forever, hasn't it?" Taylor was so excited she was out of breath. "Won't you come to my birthday party?"


	68. Friends Again

"Since it's my sweet sixteen, my grandparents rented the country club for the night," Taylor continued. "Please say you'll come! Since we haven't talked in, like, forever, it would give us a chance to catch up."

"I'll have to check and see what I'm doing that night," Jamie replied, although she knew perfectly well that she was free. In the bus on the way home, she debated whether or not to attend Taylor's party. She'd been so lonely when she'd first moved to Oklahoma City, and Taylor had been the first person who'd reached out to her. They'd been such good friends for so long, and yet, the incident at the football game had been one of the most humiliating in her life. Could she really ever forgive that?

When she walked into the house, Bethany, who was sitting on the living room floor playing with a doll house, stopped her play and came running. "Jamie!"

"Hi there, Bethy!" Jamie scooped the little girl up and kissed her cheek. Bethany giggled.

"Hi, sweetheart." Jo walked out of the kitchen, wiping her hands on a dish towel. "How was school?"

"All right." Jamie shrugged, grabbed an apple from the bowl on the counter, and bit into it. "Taylor invited me to her birthday party. It's at the country club this year."

"Oh, that's nice! You'll enjoy that."

"I'm not so sure. That was a pretty rotten stunt she pulled."

"A rotten stunt? Hon, she couldn't help it that Hunter liked her instead of you."

"Well, she didn't exactly discourage it, did she?"

"Would you have discouraged it if the situation had been reversed?"

"Well, no, I don't suppose I would have," Jamie admitted.

"Then how can you blame Taylor?"

Unable to answer that question, Jamie skulked to her room.

The rest of the evening passed uneventfully. "Taylor's birthday party is at the country club this year," Jo mentioned to her husband as they were getting ready for bed that night.

"My, that's awful fancy," Doug replied. "So did she invite Jamie? If so, she ought to go. I'm sure she'll have a blast."

"She invited her, but Jamie's not sure about going. She's still upset about what happened at the football game a few months ago."

"Aw, that was way back in the fall!"

"I know, but to Jamie, it was a pretty hard blow. She sees it as a betrayal, and I can't exactly say I blame her." They got into bed, where Jo fell asleep in her husband's arms.

* * *

><p>After much consideration, Jamie decided to go to Taylor's party, after all. Happy with her daughter's decision, Jo drove her to the country club where the party was being held. The inside of the club was very nice, with textured stucco walls, arched doorways, a red tile roof, and wrought iron trim. Cathy, Taylor, and Kennedy wore dresses that were identical except that Cathy's was yellow, Taylor's was pink, and Kennedy's was aquamarine.<p>

"Jamie!" Taylor raced toward her friend and embraced her. "I'm so glad you could come!"

Jamie looked around and saw that, so far, only a couple of Taylor's friends were there. Hunter was nowhere to be found. _I'm sure he'll be here soon._

Half a dozen or so more girls arrived, and the party began. Jamie mingled among the other girls, chatting with them. She knew most of them from school, and she remembered Taylor's cousin Lauren from previous birthday parties.

The night progressed, and no new guests arrived. Finally Jamie could stand it no longer. "Where's Hunter?" she asked Taylor, who was halfway through her second slice of birthday cake.

"You didn't know?" Taylor exclaimed. "He dumped me for Danielle Hardy ages ago. What a player!"

Although Jamie tried to look properly sympathetic, she knew that she couldn't really say she was sorry. For the rest of the night, she smiled more easily and laughed more often.

"Thanks so much for coming to my party," Taylor said as she gave her a good-bye hug. "Maybe we can hang out together next weekend. You know, like we used to."

"That would be great!"

Jamie walked out to the car with her mother. "Well, did you have a nice time?" asked Jo.

"I had a great time!" Jamie told her. "Turns out Taylor and Hunter aren't together anymore. He dumped her for Danielle Hardy."

Jo laughed. "So I guess that means you two can be friends again."

"I guess so."

The following weekend, Jamie invited Taylor over for dinner. Jo made tacos. "Wow, I haven't been over here in ages!" Taylor exclaimed as she looked around.

"You sure haven't," Doug remarked.

"Hi, Bethany!" Taylor said to Jamie's little sister, who was riding her tricycle around in circles. "Remember me?"

Bethany shook her head, then pretended to beep her tricycle's imaginary horn.

"How's Clay?" asked Taylor.

"He's OK. He just graduated from the police academy a couple of months ago, so he's a cop now."

"Neat!"

After dinner, the girls went for a walk around the neighborhood, and then Taylor went home and Jamie joined Doug and Jo in watching 'The Walking Dead.' Afterwards, she went to her bedroom to play the Sims on her computer.


	69. Clay's Shoulder

It was one o'clock in the morning on a Saturday when Doug received the telephone call every parent dreads. Grabbing the receiver, he held it to his ear, and Jo watched as his face turned pale. "I'll be there just as soon as I can." Jo heard his voice shake as he hung up. "It's Clay," he told her. "He was shot in the shoulder while attempting to stop a convenience store robbery. He's in surgery now. He's lost a lot of blood."

"Let me drive you to the hospital," Jo offered. "As upset as you are, you're in no condition. I'll wake Jamie and have her watch Bethany." She raced to her older daughter's room and shook he awake. "I need you to do me a favor, hon."

"Huh?" Jamie's voice was thick with sleep.

"I need you to listen out for Bethany in case she wakes up. I have to drive Doug to the hospital. Clay's been shot."

"Oh my God!" Jamie was fully awake now. "Is he still alive?"

"Yes, but he's lost a lot of blood. He's in surgery now. I don't know how long we'll be gone. If we're not back by the time Bethy wakes up, you know where we keep her cereal and juice."

"Yeah, she'll be fine."

Jo drove to the hospital as quickly as possible, then dropped Doug off and searched for a parking place. When she finally found one, she hurried into the emergency room and frantically looked around for her husband. Finally seeing him talking to a physician, she quickly made her way to where they stood. "The bullet was still lodged in his shoulder," the physician was saying. "We've given him two units of blood, and the bleeding's under control. He's resting now. You can go back and see him in a little bit."

"Thank God!" Weak with relief, Doug slumped into the closest seat available, and Jo sat down beside him. He turned to her. "Where the hell was Earl when this happened?"

"He's not a magician, Doug. He helps whenever he can, but bad stuff is still gonna happen sometimes. He didn't prevent Jamie's arm being broken, and this could have been a lot worse, you know. That bullet could have just as easily gone into his head...or his heart."

"Yeah, I know," Doug mumbled. "I sound real selfish, don't I?"

"You sound like a worried Dad, and that's perfectly understandable, but he's gonna be fine." She gave him a reassuring hug, and he rested his head on her shoulder for a minute.

Clay looked quite pale but seemed awake and alert when they went back to see him. "Son." Overcome with emotion, all Doug could do was to hold him and sob.

"I'm fine, Dad." Clay looked very uncomfortable. "It just grazed my shoulder a little."

"I'm sorry." Doug looked terribly embarrassed. "It's just that every time something like this happens, it takes me right back to the day your mother..." He couldn't finish.

"Are you in any pain?" Jo asked her stepson.

"Nah. They're givin' me somethin' in my IV."

"Any idea how long they're gonna keep you here?" asked Doug.

"Hopefully just a couple of days." Clay gave a sheepish smile. "To be honest, I kind of dread goin' back on the beat after this, but the guys from the station keep tellin' me if I don't go back right away, I never will.'

"I'm sure they're right, but I kinda dread it too," said Doug.

As it turned out, they made it back home before Bethany woke up. Jo was so exhausted that she went right to bed, but Doug spent several hours pacing the living room floor.

* * *

><p>As predicted, Clay was released from the hospital several days later. Jamie came home from school to find him in his bedroom, watching television. "Hi," she said.<p>

"Hey, sis." He grinned at her.

"How's your shoulder?"

"It's all right."

"Can I see?"

Clay removed his shirt to reveal the neat white bandage covering his wound. "Wow, I'll be that sure hurt!" Jamie exclaimed.

"Felt like my whole arm was on fire."

Sunday arrived. When Jo got to church that morning, she saw that Buck and Paige were there with little Prairie. The little girl had dark brown eyes and honey-colored hair. She was wearing a white dress with strawberries on it and a matching white hat and toddling up and down the aisle. "She's so pretty!" Jo exclaimed.

"Thank you," said Paige.

"How old is she?"

"She just turned a year old."

"How's you shoulder?" Earl asked Clay.

"Much better, thanks."

"I knew you'd be fine," said Earl. "It's good to see you up and about again."


	70. Clay Moves Out

"Guess what!" Doug said to Jo one warm May afternoon.

"What?" asked Jo, who was trying her best to get Bethany to 'go' on her little potty.

"Remember Erskine? His daughter, Bits, is getting married next month. We just got an invitation in the mail today."

"Cool!" said Jo. She remembered Erskine and his family from the camping trip they'd taken together the summer she'd been pregnant with Bethany.

"Bethy pee! Bethy pee!" Bethany began jumping around in excitement. Jo saw that a stream of urine was running down one leg, but there was a little bit in the potty as well.

"Good girl!" She cleaned her daughter up and gave her an M&M for her effort. "So who's Bits going to marry?"

"Fellow named Tyler Hughes. He's Erskine's assistant pastor."

"Keeping it in the family, huh?"

Doug laughed. "Guess you could say that!"

A couple of weeks later, Jamie finished the tenth grade. She planned to spend the summer doing community service with the Police Explorers, and Jo hoped that would keep her from getting bored.

Not long after that, Clay came home with big news. "Benjamin Cooley and I are moving in together," he announced one evening.

"Where 'bouts?" asked Doug.

"Royal Arms Apartments."

"Those are nice. Are you sure you can afford this?"

"Benjamin and I have worked out a budget. You know he was hired on at the Police Department at the same time I was, and we've both been saving our money up."

"What's his Mom say about it?"

"He told me she said she'll miss him, but she can understand his wanting to be independent."

"Well, OK then, if you've got it all figured out."

The following Saturday morning, the entire family helped Clay pack his belongings and transfer them to his new apartment. Once there, Jamie skipped from room to room, eager to see her stepbrother's new 'digs'. "Wow, this bedroom's a lot bigger than your old one!"

"Why do you think I'm moving out?"

"So are you gonna put your stereo system in here?" Jamie was now waltzing around the living room.

Clay snorted. "No, I'm gonna put it in the bathroom, right between the toilet and the shower stall."

Both young people went outside to help their parents bring in the many boxes and bags. Jo watched as Bethany scampered on the lawn. "Pitty!" she crowed, pointing to a wildflower.

Jo smiled and nodded.

Doug, Jo, Clay, and Jamie worked hard all morning to get all Clay's belongings moved into his new apartment. They took turns watching over Bethany as they did so.

Jo was carrying a box into Clay's new kitchen when Jamie ran up to her with panic written all over her face. "Come quick, Mom! Bethany can't breathe!"

"Oh my God!" Frightened out of her wits, Jo followed her daughter outside, where she saw that Bethany's face was as red as a beet and the little girl was indeed struggling to breathe.

"Bethany!" The terrified mother picked her small daughter up and tried to calm her. A moment later, Doug, who'd been alerted by the panicked voices, snatched Bethany from Jo's hands. He held the toddler nearly upside down and delivered several sharp blows to her back, and a large, white, moist glob flew out of her mouth. Bethany drew in several large gulps of air, and her face returned to its normal color.

Jo began to cry with relief. "I didn't know what to do," she apologized to her husband.

"I know you didn't," Doug replied. "That's why I took her from you."

"She didn't swallow a thing!" Jamie insisted. "I didn't take my eyes off her for a second, so I know!"

"It looks to me like it must have been some kind of allergic reaction, maybe to one of these weeds," said Doug. "Why don't you take her back home, hon. Clay, Jamie and I can finish up here. We'll call when we're ready to be picked up."

Jo buckled Bethany into her car seat and drove back home. Everything seemed to go fine for the rest of the day. She made a green salad and cooked lasagna, and just before dark, Doug called and said that he and Jamie were ready to be picked up.

"I'll bet you two are exhausted!" she exclaimed as they got into the van.

"I've never been more tired in my life!" Jamie exclaimed. She slouched back in her seat and closed her eyes, giving several loud snores for emphasis.

"Well, did you get it all moved?" asked Jo.

"We got it all into the apartment, but there's still lots of unpacking to be done," Doug replied. "Clay can take care of all that himself." He ruffled Bethany's hair. "How ya doin', pumpkin?"

"She's been fine all evening," Jo told him.

The family returned home, where Doug and Jamie practically inhaled the salad and lasagna, barely pausing to wash it down. Jo gave Bethany a snack of juice and graham crackers, then gave her a bah, put her pajamas on her, and read her a story.

She was just about to turn the light off and leave the room when Bethany began to gasp and cough, and soon her face was as red as it had been before.


	71. Bits' Wedding

"Doug! Help!" Jo scooped the toddler up and dashed into the living room with her. Doug took one look at his daughter and once again dislodged the glob of mucous from her throat.

"I'm taking her to the emergency room right away!" Jo exclaimed.

"I'll drive," Doug offered. "You sit in back with her and make sure she's breathing OK."

"That's a better idea," Jo agreed. "You'll be OK, won't you, Jamie?"

"Oh, yeah, I'll be fine."

Doug raced to the hospital, where they ran into the emergency room entrance, Jo carrying Bethany. Luckily, the little girl didn't have any more choking episodes.

They were called back about half an hour later. "Hey there, Bethany," said the on-call physician, whose name was Dr. Collins. "Want to sit on the table?"

"No!" Eyes wide with fright, the little girl clung to her mother.

"Go on, sweetie," Jo gently urged her. "It'll be all right, I promise."

Reluctantly, Bethany obeyed, and the doctor checked her eyes, ears, nose, and throat. "Everything seems fine," he told Jo and Doug. "Has she had any fever or cold symptoms?"

"No," said Jo. "We were helping her older brother move into an apartment earlier today, and she was outside playing around some flowers and weeds. Her Dad thinks she might have had an allergic reaction to them."

"Has anyone in either of your families ever been diagnosed with asthma?" asked Dr. Collins.

"My brother Randy had it when he was little," Doug replied.

"She's too young to take a spirometry test, so I'm going to diagnose her with reactive airway disease," said Dr. Collins. "I'll give her a shot to control the symptoms for now, but you'll need to make an appointment with her regular pediatrician as soon as possible."

He left, and a few minutes later, a nurse entered the room. Bethany saw the hypodermic needle she carried and immediately started wailing.

"Aw, baby, it'll be all right!" Doug told her. "Just a little pinch, and then it'll all be over!" He and Jo held Bethany's arm still so that the nurse could swab it with an antiseptic wife and then administer the injection.

"There, now, that wasn't so bad, was it?" Doug picked his daughter up and cuddled her. He carried her out to the car, and by the time he'd driven back home, the little girl was fast asleep. She didn't even awaken while Jo was tucking her into bed.

The following Monday morning, Jo took her to see Dr. Sanders, who told Jo to use a nebulizer in her bedroom at night and prescribed an inhaler for in case she had any more attacks.

* * *

><p>"She's beautiful!" Jo whispered to Doug as they watched Bits walk down the aisle on Erskine's arm, her dark brown eyes aglow.<p>

"She is," Doug agreed. Tyler, handsome in his black tuxedo, waited at the altar for his bride. When she reached him, he took her arm and pressed it against his side, and the minister began the ceremony.

After it had ended, Jo, Doug, and Jamie met up with Erskine's family in the reception hall. "It's so nice to see you again!" Jo said to Ada.

"Likewise," Ada replied. "This must be Jamie. Do you remember me?" she asked as she shook the teenager's hand.

"Yes, ma'am," Jamie replied.

"And this must be Cassie," said Jo. "How old are you now?"

"Fourteen." Cassie had grown to be a lot taller and now wore braces on her teeth.

"Where's your little one?" asked Ada. "I remember you were pregnant the last time we got together."

"Her name's Bethany, and she's two and a half years old," Jo replied. "She's with Doug's sister-in-law now. We just found out she has reactive airway disease, and we have to use a nebulizer in her room at night."

"Cassie's always had a lot of allergy problems too," said Ada. "You have a son, too, don't you?"

"Clay. He's a policeman now."

"That's great!" Ada exclaimed. "Let me introduce you to our son, Andy. He just returned from the mission field in time for his sister's wedding."

Andy was deeply involved in conversation with another young man when his stepmother lightly touched his arm. "Andy? I'd like you to meet Doug's wife, Jo, and their daughter, Jamie."

Andy had curly dark brown hair and dark eyes like his father and sister. He smiled as he turned to shake Jamie's hand, and she saw that his teeth were very white and almost perfectly straight. Her heart began to hammer madly, and she suddenly found herself tongue-tied.

"Tell me about your missionary work," Jo said to Andy.

"It's going great! We've just translated the Bible into four obscure rain forest languages, one so rare that it's only spoken by one tribe that consists of less than fifty individuals."

"Why did you decide to become a missionary?" Jamie wanted to know.

"I guess my Dad being a minister had a lot to do with it. I always wanted to follow in his footsteps, yet at the same time, my other passion was to travel and see the world. This way, I get to do both."

"But aren't you afraid of head hunters and cannibals?"

"A little bit, but whenever I think about it, I just remember that God is my shield and protection, and I can count on Him to take care of me."

"So when are you going back to the Amazon?"

"Not for awhile. I want to stay around here for a few weeks to spend time with my family and re-connect with some old friends."

Jamie felt her heart soar.


	72. I Saw A Man Die Today

"Andy isn't my _real _cousin, is he?" Jamie asked as they were going home.

"Of course he is," said Doug. "Why wouldn't he be?"

"He's very good-looking, isn't he?" asked Jo.

"Oh!" Doug laughed in understanding. "Don't you think he's a little old for you, hon?"

"How old is he?"

"I'm not really sure, but I'd say he's at least in his mid twenties."

"Well, I'm sixteen. It's not like he's old enough to be my Dad or anything." Upon arriving home, Jamie called Taylor. "Guess what!" she exclaimed. "At this wedding I just went to, I met the bride's older brother, and he is _so _hot!"

"Really? Wow! Who got married?"

"Doug's cousin's daughter. Her name is Bits - well, that's not her _real _name, but it's what everybody calls her."

"Great! So tell me about this new guy."

"His name's Andy, and he's a missionary. He just got back from the Amazon."

"Oh, so he's an _adult." _Taylor giggled.

"Doug says he's in his mid twenties."

"And your folks are OK with that?"

"I don't think they really like the idea."

"Did he ask you out?"

"No, but I gave him both my phone numbers. I hope he'll call me soon."

"I think the love bug has bitten our daughter," Doug said to Jo as she was preparing dinner that evening.

"I think you're right," she replied. "I don't think you could find a better young man than Andy, but aren't you just a little concerned about the difference between their ages?"

Doug grinned. "It's not nearly as big as the difference between _our _ages, babe."

"That's different, and you know it is! Jamie's only sixteen. She's never even had a serious boyfriend before."

"Andy's perfectly honorable. He'd never try anything with her."

"I know he is. I wasn't talking about _that. _What I meant was, I'm not sure if she's mature enough for him."

"Maybe she's more mature than you give her credit for."

* * *

><p>"Ready for a day full of excitement and adventure?" Officer Smith asked Jamie.<p>

"You bet!"

"You don't faint at the sight of blood, do you?" asked Officer Jones.

"Oh, no. It doesn't bother me at all."

"That's good, 'cause it's highly likely you'll see some before the day's over."

It was Jamie's first day of riding along with the policemen on their regular beat, and she was very excited. The first couple of calls they received were fairly routine: a cat up a tree and a minor shoplifting. Later, they were called to the scene of a fight.

The two young men were really going at it when the policemen and Jamie arrived, fists swinging left and right. Jamie watched as a third man emerged from the shadows and stabbed one of the men in the abdomen.

Quick as a flash, the two officers had called an ambulance and put handcuffs on the two standing men. Jamie could only stare, horrified, as the man who'd been stabbed moaned in pain.

"Somebody please...help me..." he groaned. Blood gurgled from his mouth as his chest rose and fell and then lay perfectly still as his eyes rolled back in his head.

"Sir? Sir!" Jamie went to him and shook his shoulder, hard, but he didn't respond. Copious amounts of blood were all around, but she hardly seemed to notice that.

The next thing she knew, a couple of paramedics were there, pushing her aside and examining the man. One looked into the other's eyes, and the second paramedic shook his head.

It was then that Jamie saw that her shoes were covered with blood.

* * *

><p>Jamie entered the house and went straight to her room, where she shut the door behind her without saying a word. When she still hadn't emerged several hours later, Jo became concerned and knocked on her door.<p>

"Come in." Jamie's voice was flat, lifeless. Jo entered the room to find her daughter sitting on the bed, just staring at the wall. She sat beside her on the bed and put her arm around her.

"Honey?"

"I saw a man die today, Mom." She looked into Jo's eyes, and Jo saw the pain she felt. "One minute his eyes were open and he was breathing, and the next, he was gone!"

"I'm so sorry!" Jo felt awkward.

"It's all right." Jamie gave a shaky smile. "I didn't mean to wimp out about it. It just kind of shook me up, you know?"

"I think something like that would shake anybody up, Jamie. I doubt anyone ever gets used to it."

"Well, I suppose I'll _have _to, if I ever want to be a cop like Dad."

Doug appeared in the doorway. "Phone for you, Jamie."

Jamie took the receiver from him, and a moment later, her face broke into a wide grin. "Hi, Andy!"


	73. All That Really Matters

"Jamie! Hey, how ya doin', girl?"

"All right. I rode around with the policemen for the first time today."

"So is that your new summer job?"

"No, it's with the Police Explorers. It's to get job experience."

"Great! So how did it go?"

"It was really interesting. I learned a lot."

She wasn't about to talk about what had really happened with Andy and risk an emotional breakdown.

"Glad to hear it. Hey, listen, would you like to meet me at the Starbucks in the mall Saturday evening at seven? With your parents' approval, of course."

"Just a minute. I'll ask." She covered the receiver with her hand. "Mom, can I please meet Andy at Starbucks in the mall Saturday evening?"

"Sure, hon." Jo smiled.

"Mom said it was OK," Jamie told Andy.

"Cool! I'll be looking forward to it."

Later, Jo and Doug were sitting on the sofa watching television and discussing Jamie's upcoming date with Andy. "Our little girl's really growin' up!" Doug exclaimed.

"Almost too quickly," Jo added.

Doug grinned. "Aw, she'll be fine. I felt the same way when Clay first started likin' girls too, and he turned out fine."

* * *

><p>"Ready to go?" Blair asked Natalie.<p>

"Almost," Natalie replied. "I just need to finish packing the diaper bag." Adam and Alyssa were spending the summer with their father, and Blair and Natalie had planned a shopping spree for the day.

Nine-month-old Luke had grown to be a chubby, happy baby with his mother's curly brown hair and big blue eyes. He already had a couple of teeth and was able to pull himself into a standing position by holding onto furniture.

"Are you ready to go bye-bye?" Natalie asked her son. Luke grinned at her and opened and closed his hand. She carried him to the car and put him into his car seat, and the three of them were off.

Arriving at the mall, Natalie found a parking space and parked, then got Luke's stroller out of the trunk and put him into it. Then she and Blair entered the first department store, where Blair found several dresses for herself, shoes for Adam, and a couple of shirt-and-pants sets for Alyssa, and Natalie found a couple of shirts for herself, Ralph's favorite cologne, and several new outfits for Luke.

The women enjoyed shopping for several hours, and then Natalie got hungry, so they went to the food court. Natalie sat Luke in the high chair, took his baby food out of the diaper bag, and began to feed him in between taking bites of her sandwich.

"Your grandson is adorable!" a middle-aged woman who was walking past exclaimed. "How old is he?"

"Nine months," Natalie replied. "And he's my son, not my grandson."

"Oh." The woman looked mortified.

"Is it my roots?" Natalie asked after the woman had gone as she ran frantic fingers through her hair. "I just had them touched up a couple of weeks ago."

"You look fine," Blair assured her. "Don't take it so personally."

Yet Natalie was unable to put the woman's question out of her mind for the rest of the day.

* * *

><p>Jamie felt her heart begin to beat faster as she entered Starbucks and saw Andy. He saw her at the same time, smiled, and went to join her. "What would you like?" he asked.<p>

"They all look so yummy!"

"I recommend the White Chocolate Mocha Frappucino," Andy told her. "It's always been my favorite."

"OK!"

He ordered one for each of them. "Would you like something to eat as well?"

"No, thanks. I've already had dinner."

They took their drinks and found a seat. Andy asked Jamie several questions about school, her friends, and her interests and hobbies, and she answered them with eagerness, so very flattered that a grown man had taken such an interest in her. When her turn came, she asked him about his childhood, his family, and his adventures as a missionary. He shared with her the sorrow he'd experienced upon his mother's death, and she told him the little she remembered about her biological father.

"You're a nice girl, Jamie," he said after awhile. "I like you a lot."

"I like you, too." Jamie frowned and stared into her coffee, wondering where the conversation was going.

"I'm going back to the Amazon in late August," Andy continued. "It's my calling, what God has impressed upon my heart. I know you have a couple years of school left. I'd like to stay in touch with you after I leave, but I don't know how often I'll be able to come back for a visit. I know there are probably lots of cute guys in your school, and I don't want to hold you back if you want to date any of them."

"But I don't want some immature high school boy!" Jamie protested.

Andy laughed. "I'm sure you'll change your mind when the right one comes along."

"Never!"

Andy's eyes twinkled with amusement. "Let's just be friends for now and see how things go, all right?"

"Uh, sure. OK. We can be friends." Jamie felt like a deflated balloon.

"Great!" He smiled and clasped her hands. "I'm so glad I met you, Jamie."

* * *

><p>"What are you looking at?" Ralph asked his wife, who was scrutinizing her face in the mirror with care.<p>

"Do you think my crow's feet are getting worse?" asked Natalie.

"To be honest, I've never even noticed that you _have _crow's feet."

Natalie turned to face her husband. "Today a woman thought Luke was my grandson."

"She did?" Ralph laughed.

Natalie glared at him. "It's _not _funny!"

"Aw, c'mon, Nat. It was an honest mistake." He embraced her and kissed her cheek. "You'll always be beautiful to me. Isn't that all that really matters?"

She grinned. "Of course!"


	74. Humiliation

"Since this is the last weekend I'm in town, how would you like to go to Frontier City with me?" Andy asked Jamie.

"I'd love to!" she exclaimed.

"OK if my little sister Cassie tags along? She's been begging me to take her for awhile now. She's only a couple of years younger than you. I think you two would get along great."

"All right." Jamie was disappointed but hoped it didn't show.

"Super! We'll be by to pick you up at nine Saturday morning."

"Andy's taking me to Frontier City," Jamie told Jo later.

"That sounds like fun! Why the long face?"

"His little sister's coming along with us."

"That's nice. You and she can get to know each other better."

"I wish it could be just me and Andy!"

"Oh, don't be selfish. I'll bet you'll have a great time."

"You just don't understand, do you, Mom?"

Jo sighed. "I know how you feel about Andy, Jamie, but you aren't really in a committed relationship with him right now. He's going back to his missionary work, and you're going back to school, so right now, you can't really be anything more than friends. It's perfectly all right if he wants to take Cassie along with you to Frontier City."

"I guess you're right."

When Andy's car pulled up in front of the house Saturday morning, Jamie jumped to her feet and raced out of the house. "Have fun!" Jo yelled after her, but she barely heard.

When she got to the car, she saw that, to her relief, Cassie was sitting in the back seat. Andy grinned at her as she slid into the front seat beside him. "Ready to go?" he asked.

"Yep!"

He pulled back onto the road, and they were off. "I love Frontier City," said Cassie. "How many times have you been, Jamie?"

"Just once, when I was twelve."

"We lived in New York City until I was twelve," Jamie explained.

"Wow! I'll bet that's really different from here."

"It sure is. It's a lot more noisy and crowded, but there's a lot more fun things to do. I really miss it sometimes." Jamie's thoughts turned to Sarah. Although the two girls kept in touch through Facebook and texting, they hadn't seen one another in person since the summer Sarah's grandmother had died.

"So how old are you now?" Cassie interrupted Jamie's reverie.

"Sixteen. My junior year starts in a couple of weeks."

"At Oklahoma High? I'm gonna be a freshman there. It's really exciting. A little scary, too."

"It's a great school. You'll love it."

Andy reached the amusement park and parked, and they all got out. They walked to the entrance together, Andy between the two girls. Once inside the gates, they walked around looking at all the rides until they reached the Gunslinger.

"I'll bet I couldn't get you to go on _that." _Andy nodded toward the ride.

"You'd lose!" Jamie told him.

"Really? You'd go on that thing with me?"

"You bet!"

"How about you, Cass?" he asked his sister.

"No way!"

Once buckled in, Jamie felt a little less confident but was determined not to let it show. Andy grinned at her, and she gave him a thumbs up. For the entire time the ride lasted, she felt as if she were being tossed around inside a clothes dryer, and when she got off, the ground seemed to tilt like a boat being tossed about by a storm, and a sudden urge made her rush for the nearest trash can. She almost made it.

She was far too mortified to even notice that Andy stood right behind her, holding her hair back, as all her stomach's contents came up.

"Now I'm _really _glad I didn't go on that ride!" Cassie exulted.

"Are you all right, Jamie?" Andy's voice was warm with concern as he dabbed at her face with a napkin.

"I'm - I'm sorry!" She was far too embarrassed to look him in the eyes.

"Nothing to be sorry for." Andy chuckled. "It happened to me a couple of times when I was younger, too. You just need to take it easy for awhile." He led her to a bench and helped her sit down, then brought her a strawberry lemonade.

"Thank you," she mumbled.

For the remainder of the day, they rode gentle rides, and when Andy dropped Jamie off at home, he kissed her cheek. "Thank you for coming along," he told her. "I had a lovely time."

"I had a nice time, too," Jamie replied, plastering a smile onto her face. "Thank you for inviting me."

"You're very welcome."

"So did you have fun?" Jo asked her daughter when she'd entered the house.

"Oh, Mom, it was so embarrassing! I threw up right in front of him!"

"Why, did you go on a rough ride?"

"Well, yeah. I wanted to impress him with how brave I was."

Jo chuckled. "That's what I thought."

"Don't laugh! It isn't funny at all!"

"I know it isn't, sweetie. I'm sorry. What did Andy do after it happened?"

"Oh, he was real nice. He took care of me until I felt better, and then he rode a bunch more rides with me, even the Ferris wheel. That was nice." Jamie smiled at the memory. "But I'm sure he was just being nice. I mean, what guy _wouldn't _get completely turned off by seeing a girl throw up in front of him?"

"A really nice guy wouldn't, and I think that's what Andy is," Jo replied. "Just wait and see."

Andy called Jamie later that night. "Hey, I just wanted to know if you were still doing OK. I know you weren't feeling too good this morning, and I was a bit worried about you."

"I'm fine now, but thanks for calling. It's really sweet of you to worry about me."

"Hey, no problem! You _are _still coming to the airport to see me off tomorrow, aren't you?"

"Of course!"

"By the way, Cassie told me she thinks you're really nice, and she enjoyed talking to you."

"That's nice. I really enjoyed talking to her, too." It wasn't completely untrue.

"I'm glad. Well, see you tomorrow."

Jamie felt as if her feet had wings.


	75. Doug's Idea

"I'll never forget all the fun I had with you this summer, Jamie." Andy embraced her and kissed her forehead. "I'll stay in touch, and after you graduate, if you feel God's calling you into the mission field, then...who knows?"

Tears were in Jamie's eyes as she watched him walk away, and as she turned to leave the airport with her family, she felt as if there was a large, gaping hole inside her.

"How about if I take us all to Western Steer for dinner?" Doug suggested. He knew it was Jamie's favorite restaurant.

"I'm not very hungry, Dad."

Jo smiled at her daughter. "It might help take your mind off things."

"Perhaps."

Doug took his family to the restaurant, where Jamie was able to finish most of her meal and took the rest home in a doggy bag. She was quiet all the way home, and when they got there, she went straight to her bedroom, where she stayed for the rest of the day.

"I didn't realize how hard she'd fallen for him," Jo commented.

"Aw, school will be startin' soon, and that'll keep her occupied," Doug replied.

On the first day of school, Jamie met up with Taylor before class. "What's wrong?" asked Taylor. "You look like you just lost your best friend!"

"Andy went back to the Amazon a few days ago, and already I miss him like crazy!"

"Have you heard from him since then?"

"Just a brief email telling me he got there all right. That's all!"

"Maybe he's just busy."

"I hope so."

Weeks passed, and still there was no word from Andy. Fortunately, the school football season soon began, and Jamie got involved with that, which helped take her mind off things. At the school dance following the homecoming game, a tall boy with medium-length brown hair and hazel eyes approached her. "Hi, I'm Nolan. Wanna dance?"

"Sure. I'm Jamie."

She had a nice time dancing with Nolan, but he didn't ask for her telephone number afterwards. "Well, I guess I'll see you around," was all he said.

Several days later, she finally heard from Andy. "Sorry I haven't been in touch," he wrote in his email. "It rained for almost two weeks straight, and many of the villagers got sick. The rain delayed delivery of our supplies, so there wasn't enough medicine for everyone, and a two-year-old boy just died. His parents are inconsolable, and I've been doing my best to comfort them. I've only now gotten access to the internet for a few minutes. I just wanted to let you know I haven't forgotten about you and I hope you're enjoying school."

Jamie's heart leaped with joy. She couldn't wait to write back to him, but just then, Jo called her to dinner.

* * *

><p>Natalie held Luke's first birthday party on a sunny Saturday afternoon. Blair came accompanied by Adam, Alyssa, Katelyn, and Kimberlyn. Everybody watched as Natalie lit the numeral '1' on her son's cake and encouraged him to blow it out. Then they sang 'Happy Birthday' to him and Natalie cut and served the cake.<p>

"So what grade are you in now, Kimberlyn?" she asked Blair's younger stepdaughter as they were eating. It was the first time she'd met the girls, and she was anxious to get to know them.

"Third." Kimberlyn looked up at her out of the corner of her eyes.

"That's nice. How are you enjoying school this year?"

Kimberlyn shrugged. "It's OK, I guess. This cake is really good. Did you make it yourself?"

Natalie laughed. "Oh, no. It's from a bakery. I _wish _I could bake like this, though."

Katelyn and Alyssa were playing peek-a-boo with Luke. Adam was playing with his cell phone, looking bored.

"How about you, Adam?" asked Natalie. "How's your school year going?"

"All right. I have to do a report on the medulla oblongata for science."

"What's _that?" _asked Kimberlyn.

"Part of the brain stem," Adam told her.

"You mean brains have stems?"

Adam sighed and rolled his eyes while Katelyn and Alyssa giggled.

Natalie posted photographs of the party on Facebook. "Luke's a year old now!" Jo called to Doug, who was sitting on the sofa watching television.

He walked over to look at the computer screen. "Cute little fellow, isn't he?"

Jo sighed. "Natalie and Blair look like they're having so much fun."

"Maybe we could drive out to California to visit them some day," Doug suggested.

"That would be quite a drive!" Jo exclaimed.

"Shoot, I bet it would only take a couple of days. Hey, maybe we could do that over the holidays, y'know? It might even help take Jamie's mind off missin' Andy so much."

Jo smiled. "What a great idea!"


	76. Road Trip

The autumn of 2013 passed quickly. Jamie enjoyed her classes, and she occasionally exchanged greetings in the hallway with Nolan. The two of them even ate lunch together a couple of times, but Jamie never stopped missing Andy. He was very busy with his mission work and also had limited access to the internet, so communication between the two of them was rare.

When she came home from school on the last day of the fall term, her mother had a surprise for her. "We're driving out to Los Angeles for a couple of weeks."

"All right!" Jamie exclaimed. "So can we go to Hollywood Hills and look at all those movie star homes?"

"Perhaps, if there's time," Jo replied. "But this is mostly a trip to visit my old friends from high school. I haven't seen them all together since the summer Sarah's grandmother died, you know. I've never even met Natalie's baby, and he's a year old now!"

"Will Tisha be there too?"

"I doubt it. They live in New York, remember?"

Jamie's face fell. "Do I _have _to go?"

"Don't you _want _to?"

"Well, if we're not going to see Hollywood Hills and Tisha's not gonna be there, it sounds like a pretty boring trip to me."

Jo sighed. "You're old enough to stay here by yourself, if you want, but Doug and I were really hoping you'd want to come with us. He was the one who suggested it. He thought you'd enjoy it."

"All right," Jamie groaned, going to her room to start packing.

Doug came home from work several hours later. "Did you tell her?" he asked Jo after kissing her hello.

"Yep."

"Well, what did she say?"

"She was less than thrilled. All she really cares about is seeing Hollywood Hills."

"So we'll go to Hollywood Hills, then."

"But Doug, I thought we were mainly going so I could reconnect with Natalie and Blair."

"We're mainly going so that we can have a nice vacation together we'll all enjoy."

"I guess I sounded kind of selfish, didn't I?"

Doug grinned. "Nah. There'll be plenty of time to do what everybody wants to do."

They arose at four the following morning, and Doug and Jamie loaded all the suitcases and bags into the trunk while Jo carried a very sleepy Bethany to the car and buckled her into her car seat. Once Doug reached the interstate, the ride went quite smoothly. They rode for a couple of hours, and then Bethany opened her eyes and looked out the window. "We're going bye-bye!"

"We're going to Hollywood, where all the movie stars live," Jamie told her.

"Do you need to go potty, Bethy?" asked Jo.

"I already did," Bethany told her.

Jo groaned. "You're gonna have to pull over, Doug."

Doug found an exit ramp, then drove until he came to a gas station, where Jo fished a pair of dry training pants out of a bag and led Bethany into the bathroom by the hand. Doug chuckled and shook his head as he watched them walk away. A few minutes later, they reappeared, Bethany skipping beside her mother. Jo strapped her back into her car seat, gave her a box of animal crackers and a juice box, then returned to her own seat beside her husband.

They drove for a couple more hours, then stopped at McDonald's for lunch. "Boy it feels good to stretch your legs, doesn't it?" asked Doug.

"It sure does," Jo agreed.

After they'd eaten, Doug yawned and rubbed his eyes. "Want me to drive for awhile, hon?" Jo offered. He nodded.

Jo took Bethany to the bathroom again, and then they were off. Bethany fell asleep almost right away, and Jamie slumped down in the seat with her ear buds in her ears. Jo drove for a couple of hours, then pulled into a rest area and took Bethany to the bathroom again. Doug and Jamie walked around on the sidewalk and then stood in the shaded area where the picnic tables were and talked.

"Enjoying the trip so far?" Doug asked his stepdaughter.

"It's all right. You?"

He chuckled. "I haven't done this much driving in awhile."

It was on the tip of Jamie's tongue to remark that if they'd flown instead, they'd already be there, but she knew about his flying phobia and didn't want to embarrass him.

A few minutes later, Jo and Bethany reappeared. "I made poo poo!" Bethany announced in a joyful voice.

Jo, Doug, and Jamie all laughed, while Bethany looked puzzled.

They returned to the car, and Doug drove until it was almost dark. They left the interstate in Albuquerque, found a motel, and checked in, then walked to the diner next door for dinner. Doug carried Bethany, who was still half asleep. She managed to eat a couple of french fries, then fell asleep in her father's arms.

Back at the motel, Doug gently laid his sleeping daughter onto the bed while Jamie called Taylor on her cell phone. After getting the toddler settled, Doug sat on the other bed, switched the television on, and took Jo into his arms. She moaned in contentment as she cuddled up to him.


	77. Julia and Lydia

"Is this Luke? Aw, he's so cute!" Jo exclaimed, holding her arms out to Natalie's son. "Want to come to Aunt Jo?"

Luke turned around and hid his face in his mother's neck. "Give him time," said Natalie.

"Is this really little Bethany? How old are you now, sweetie?" asked Blair. Bethany held up three fingers. "Wow, what a big girl!" exclaimed Blair. "So how's Clay?"

"He's doin' real good," said Doug. "Got his own apartment now and workin' full time for the police department."

"Glad to hear it," said Blair. "And how are you, Jamie?"

"I'm OK."

"What grade are you in now?"

"Eleventh."

"Wow, almost finished!"

Jamie chuckled. "Yeah."

"So what do you want to do after you graduate?"

"I'm thinking about going to the police academy, like Clay." She didn't mention Andy or the possibility of joining him in his missionary work.

"Good deal!"

Jamie went into the living room, where Adam and Alyssa were watching Cartoon Network, while Blair, Natalie, Jo, and Doug went into the kitchen and sat at the table. Natalie poured coffee for everyone.

"So, tell me about life in L.A.," said Jo.

"I love it!" Blair exclaimed. "There's just so much to see and do. I'll definitely have to take you to the mall as soon as I can. How's tomorrow sound?"

"Great! Want to go shopping tomorrow, Bethy? There might even be an ice cream parlor with a carousel!"

"Yeah!" Bethany cheered. She wandered into the living room and sat on the floor to watch television with Adam and Alyssa.

Jamie soon grew tired of sitting on the sofa with the younger children. "Can I go for a walk, Mom?" she asked Jo.

"Remember you don't know your way around here yet, so don't go too far, and be back before dark."

"Thanks!" Jamie left the apartment building and then looked around, trying to decide which direction to go. She noticed a group of small stores that looked interesting on the corner and began to walk toward them.

She entered the shop that interested her most, which was a beauty supply store. Right away, she saw two girls who were about her age, laughing and trying on wigs. They both had brown hair and blue eyes, and one girl was slightly taller, but other than that, they looked very similar. When Jamie entered the store, they stopped giggling and looked over at her.

"I've never seen you around here before," the taller girl said. "Did you just move here?"

"My Mom's visiting her friends who live here," Jamie replied. "My name's Jamie."

"I'm Julia, and this is my sister Lydia," the girl told her. "So where are you from, Jamie?"

"I'm originally from New York, but I live in Oklahoma City now. I'm a junior."

"I'm a senior, and Lydia's a sophomore. So where are you staying?"

"Westwood Apartments, 14B."

"We live in 6A!" Julia exclaimed.

"Is it just you guys and your parents?"

"We have another sister and a brother. Sofia's twelve, and Kady's nine."

Jamie frowned. "A boy named Kady?"

"His real name's Arkady. He's named for our father."

"I've never known anyone named Arkady before."

"He's from Russia. So how many brothers and sisters do you have?"

"I have a stepbrother who's a cop in Oklahoma City. His name's Clay, and I have a little sister named Bethany. She's three."

"Aw, how cute!" It was the first time Lydia had spoken.

"I got bored sitting around the apartment, so I decided to go for a walk. This shop looked interesting, so I came in," said Jamie.

"It's a really cool store," Julia replied. "We get a lot of our make-up here."

Thrilled to have encountered a couple of other girls around her age, Jamie stayed with Julia and Lydia for a couple of hours, and they invited her over for dinner with their family.

"Thanks, but I think I'd better head on back or my folks will be worried about me," Jamie told them. "Hopefully, I'll see you around again before we have to go back to Oklahoma City."

She arrived to find the others still sitting around the table talking. "We were just wondering what had become of you," Jo remarked.

"I met a couple of other girls and hung out with them for awhile," said Jamie. "Turns out they live right here in this building, in 6A."

"What's their last name?" asked Natalie.

"They didn't tell me, and I didn't think to ask. I'll ask next time I see them."

The following morning, everyone decided to go to the mall. "You're coming too, aren't you, Jamie?" Jo asked her daughter.

"Have you ever known me to pass on a trip to the mall?" asked Jamie.

Everyone laughed.


	78. Jo's New Negligee

"This is great!" Jo exclaimed. "I almost feel like I'm back in New York again!"

"Nothing like this in Oklahoma City, that's for sure!" Blair agreed. The three women and Jamie were looking around in a lingerie shop.

"So, Blair, do you think Ralph would like me in this?" Natalie held up a sheer black lace negligee. After much effort, she'd finally gotten herself back down to her pre-pregnancy weight.

"Hon, I think he'd love it!" Blair replied.

Jo walked over to where Jamie was looking around in another section of the store. "I was just wondering what Andy would think of this outfit." The teenager sighed. "I miss him so much."

Jo gave her daughter a quick hug. "I know you do, sweetie, and if it was meant to be, you'll be together again someday."

Jamie soon got bored and walked over to where Doug stood watching Bethany ride the small carousel. "Havin' fun?" he asked her.

"Yeah, I guess so. I haven't been in a mall this big in, like, forever!"

Doug laughed. "I don't see how anybody could find their way around in it without gettin' lost as a bug!"

The carousel ride came to an end. "Can I ride again, Daddy? Please?" Bethany begged.

"Sure, why not?" Doug slipped another coin into the slot, and Bethany cheered as the carousel began to move once again.

The friends finished shopping and carried their purchases out to the parking lot. Doug got behind the wheel of his car and turned the ignition, but nothing happened. "Well, _that's _just great!" he muttered.

Glancing around the parking lot, he spotted a middle-aged man with longish brown hair. He wore jeans, a t-shirt, and sneakers. "Sir? Sir!" Doug called. The man turned around and looked at him.

"Will you please jump me off? I already have the cables."

"Certainly."

Doug took his jumper cables out of the trunk and handed them to the man, and within minutes, Doug's car was cranked. "Thank you so much!" he told the other man.

The man smiled. "It is not a problem." He spoke with a slight, but unmistakable, accent.

"You sound like you aren't from around here," Doug remarked.

"I am originally from Moscow," the man told him. "The United States has been my home since 1995. I am Arkady Renko."

"Pleased to meet you." Doug shook Arkady's hand. "I'm Doug Norman, and this is my wife Jo and our daughters, Jamie and Bethany."

"Jamie." Arkady smiled. "I believe you met my two older daughters yesterday."

Jamie's eyes widened. "You're Julia and Lydia's Dad?"

"I am."

"That's, like, so cool! I really enjoyed hanging out with them."

"They like you, too. It is a shame you have to go back home so soon."

Jamie grimaced. "Yeah, I have to be back for school. I've got another year to go after this one."

"Well, perhaps you can visit us before you have to leave. We would love to have you over for dinner."

"Thanks. I'd like that, too."

* * *

><p>"Close your eyes," Jo said to her husband. "No peeking!"<p>

"Now you've got me _really _curious," Doug chuckled. He complied, and Jo quickly slipped out of her pajamas and into the lacy red negligee she'd bought that day. "Now open them," she commanded.

Doug did so, and his eyes went wide. He whistled. "Wow, babe!"

Jo smiled. "Do you like it?"

"I _love _it!"

She saw that his eyes were smoldering with passion. She spun around so he could see her whole body, and he grabbed her, pulled her close, and began kissing her mouth passionately. Their tongues danced together as they lay back on the bed, Doug tugging Jo's thong down while she pulled his underwear off. Free at last, Doug slipped a condom on and they joined their bodies together.

* * *

><p>"Hi, Jamie," Julia said as she opened the door to admit her guest. "You remember Lydia, and this is my Mom, my Dad, Sofia, and Kady."<p>

"Hello, darling." Julia's mother's voice was warm and her smile was genuine as she shook Jamie's hand. "I'm Irina Renkova, and my husband's name is Arkady."

"We met in the parking lot of the mall a few days ago," Arkady told his wife. "I helped her father start his car."

"It's nice to meet you, Irina," said Jamie.

"Please come in and have a seat," Irina replied. "Dinner is almost ready."

Jamie sat down on the sofa between Sofia and Kady, who were both playing with their cell phones. Julia kicked Sofia's leg. "Say hi to Jamie, Sofia. You too, Kady."

They both looked up and said a brief hello, then returned to their games.

Over dinner, Irina told Jamie how she and her husband had met. "It was 1983, and Andropov was in power. Arkady was an investigator with the police department. He was trying to solve a multiple murder. I had been friends with one of the victims, so he interviewed me."

"He helped me defect to the United States, and when he left to go back home, I thought I'd never see him again. Eight years later, I was working for Radio Liberty in Germany when he called me and said he wanted to meet up with me again."

"I'd never forgotten her." Arkady continued his wife's story. "When I heard her voice on the radio one day, I knew I had to see her again. Luckily, I had to travel to Germany to investigate an international crime, and we were reunited there."

Irina smiled and clasped her husband's hand. "We've been together ever since then."

"How romantic!" Jamie exclaimed, thinking of Andy and how long it seemed since she'd last seen him.


	79. Snow Day

"Jo, please tell me what's wrong! You've barely said ten words all day!" Doug sat beside his wife on the sofa and took her hand into his own. It was their first afternoon back in Oklahoma.

"I miss it, Doug." Doug was surprised to see that there were tears in her eyes. "I miss the big city life. All I can think about is how much fun I had with Blair and Natalie, all those malls, an exciting shop on every corner...so much to do! Oklahoma City just seems so..._quiet _by comparison."

"Well, I guess you can take the girl out of the city, but you can't take the city out of the girl." Doug's tone was light, but his eyes were soft with concern."

"I mean it, Doug! I just feel like, now that I've had a taste of what I used to take for granted, I'm not sure I could ever be really happy living here again."

Doug drew a deep breath and let it out slowly, staring at his crossed feet, which were stretched out in front of him. Jo felt her stomach clench as she watched him. Were they about to have an argument, or even worse, a fight?

"I suppose L.A. needs landscapers, too," Doug said at last.

"But Oklahoma City is your home! You've lived here your entire life! I couldn't ask you to give it up just for me!"

Doug held his fingers in the shape of a steeple. "You're my wife, Jo. I love you, and I want you to be happy."

"But you wouldn't be happy living in California, Doug. You'd be miserable and only end up resenting me."

Doug laughed. "So what do we do? Split up the year?"

He'd been joking, but Jo seemed to consider it in perfect seriousness. "That wouldn't be very practical, would it? I mean, Jamie still has a year and a half of school left..."

Doug grinned and squeezed her hand. "That's OK. We'll work it out somehow."

* * *

><p>"So, did you have a nice vacation?" Taylor asked Jamie on the first day of the spring term.<p>

"It was great! We drove to California to visit my Mom's friends from high school, and while we were there, I met these two cool girls, Julia and Lydia. Julia's a senior, and Lydia's a sophomore. They're sisters. I got to meet their whole family when they had me over for dinner one night."

"Sounds like your vacation was a lot better than mine was. Kennedy and I both had the flu over Christmas."

"Oh, no! Well, I hope you're both better now."

"Yeah, just in time for school to start."

"Well, did you get lots of Christmas presents?"

"Yeah. My Aunt Brenda loves to buy clothes for me and Kennedy. She bought me this outfit I'm wearing right now. You?"

"My Grandma Rose in New York sent me this locket I'm wearing. There's a picture of my real Dad inside."

"Cool! I'll bet you really miss him, don't you?"

"I was so little when he died I hardly even remember him. I've always wondered what it would have been like if he'd lived, but I'm glad Mom met Doug. He's a swell guy."

* * *

><p>"Ooh, I don't wanna go outside and shovel snow this morning." Jo cuddled closer to her husband, burying her face in the warmth of his neck above the bed's covers.<p>

Doug laughed. "Only way we'll go anywhere." He kissed her forehead. "It won't take long, babe."

Jo prepared breakfast for her family, then dressed Bethany in her thermal underwear underneath a sweater and quilted overalls. "You can play in the snow while your Daddy and I work," she told her daughter.

Fifteen minutes later, Doug and Jo were shoveling snow while Bethany rolled the snow into a ball which grew larger and larger. "Want me to show you how to make a snowman?" Jo asked her daughter. Bethany nodded.

"You just keep making the ball bigger and bigger until it's...about this big. Then you make the second ball, but..." She was interrupted by the sensation of a snowball hitting her in the back of the head, and she turned to see Doug laughing.

"I'm gonna get you!" She took off after him, but he was much faster, and she soon developed a stitch in her side and had to stop.

"You OK?" asked Doug.

She couldn't say anything for a minute.

"Hey..." He patted her shoulder, and she grinned and shoved a handful of snow into his face.

He laughed. "C'mon, let's get back to shoveling."

They soon had the driveway cleared, and then joined Bethany in finishing her snowman. Doug found coal for the eyes and mouth, a carrot for the nose, and a straw hat, and Jo took a photograph to post on Facebook.

The family spent most of the day playing outside, and when the sun began to set, they went inside and ate Jo's cheddar cheese bacon soup, which had been simmering in the crock pot all day. Afterwards, Jo and Doug cleaned up together, and then Jo gave Bethany her bath, read her a bedtime story, and then tucked her into bed and kissed her goodnight.

Doug was sitting on the sofa watching Boardwalk Empire when she entered the living room. He smiled and patted the seat beside him, and she sat there. He pulled her close, and she cuddled up next to him.

"I had more fun today than I've had in longer than I can remember," Jo remarked.

Doug chuckled. "And you were complaining about the snow just this morning."

"It's days like today that remind me of why I moved to Oklahoma in the first place. This is where I belong, Doug. Where _we _belong."

Doug kissed her nose. "I'm so glad you feel that way."


End file.
